Newcomer: Revamp
by Catmandu22
Summary: (Rewrite) A young girl with a past hidden in the shadows attempts to find solace in the walls of the Xavier Institute. At first it seems to work, she feels normal. However, as time progresses, her past comes back to cause trouble. Will she remain in her new home? Or will her past force her to embrace a darker path? [STRONG LANGUAGE USED]
1. Announcment

Hello followers or any of those who care to read this. Many years ago, I began a story titles Xmen Evolution: The Newcomer. I fell off the grid after posting many chapters, and only recently have logged back on. I have decided to rewrite and revive the story, only better written. I enjoyed the story at a base level, but rereading it has shown me how much I have improved upon my writing. It was the work of a young girl, immature who just wanted something to write and, while it served it's purpose at the time, now it sits on this site, covered in cobwebs and dust. I will attempt to better the story, flesh out the plot, focus on creating believable and relatable characters, as well as attempting to correct the errors present in the original. All in all, I just want to turn something that I was once proud of into something I can be proud of once again.

Thank you to all who read this, and I hope you will enjoy the newly refurbished Newcomer

-Catmandu22


	2. A New Arrival

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the owner of X-Men Evolution, X-Men characters shown, or Marvel Comics.

 **Welcome friends, to take two at my story The Newcomer. If you come from the original, welcome back! If you are new to my page and this story, I welcome you as well.**

 **This is a story about a character I created named Cassie Reeds, and her adventures in both trying to escape her past and her journey to find out who she truly is. Read along to join in on the fun.**

 **Leave a comment if you want!**

* * *

Cassie took a deep breath as she stared down the pay phone in front of her like it would bite her if she touched it. She had been standing in front of it for a good ten minutes, prompting a few suspicious looks from the workers and patrons of the subway station she was in. She took one more deep breath (probably the seventh one she'd taken while standing there) and took a step towards the imminent danger that awaited her in the form of a pay phone. She slid the coins into the slot, the *chink* sound they made as the hit the pile inside the machine was oddly soothing to Cassie as she built up her courage to dial the number on the faded business card she got many years ago.

She only hoped the number hadn't changed.

* * *

The harsh pitch of a ringing telephone filled the halls of the pristine Xavier Institute, joining the sounds of laughing teens and the chatter of the local news station on the kitchen television. Ororo Munroe, more commonly referred to as Storm, made her way to the source of the noise. With the grace that accompanied all of her movements, she lifted the phone to her ear, silencing the shrill ringing.

"Hello, this is the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Ororo speaking. May I help you?" Her voice was smooth, and seasoned with the accent of her youth growing up in Africa.

The voice on the other end was less smooth, and more frantic. It was the voice of a young girl, and the only thing it seemed to be seasoned with was anxiety, "Hi! Um, I mean hello. My name is, uh, Cassie and I am calling to ask if you have any spots open for newcomers?"

Ororo raised a sculpted brow, "Yes, of course. We are always open to new students. How old are you, Ms. Cassie, was it?"

The voice paused for a moment. This pause was soon followed by a small voice and an answer, "16, ma'am."

Ororo searched quickly on the desk for a note pad and a pen, finding them with ease. She began jotting down the information she had received so far, which consisted of the girls name and her age. "May I speak with your parents, Ms. Cassie? You are a minor, so we need the consent of an acting guardian before taking you into our care."

There was another pause, this one much longer than the first. So long, in fact, that Ororo thought the call disconnected until the girl finally spoke again, "They're dead ma'am. Mom passed away when I was four, my dad passed away three years ago."

This time it was Ororo who paused, "Do you have a guardian of any sort?"

"No ma'am" was the girl's response, "I never knew of any other family, and my dad wasn't exactly the perfect man. He did a lot of bad things to a lot of people, so when he died it was covered up by the people he worked with. I've been on my own since."

Ororo took in what this young girl had just told her, adding the new information to her note pad. She cleared her throat, refraining from apologizing for her loss. She knew from comforting enough grieving children that apologies from essentially strangers did nothing to help. She spoke again, "Well we'd be happy to take you in, Cassie. When can we expect your arrival?"

There was an indiscernible sound of excitement on the other end of the line, "Tonight at the earliest, tomorrow morning at the latest. Thank you so much!"

"Absolutely, we cannot wait to see you." Ororo spoke with a smile.

She hung up the phone after the girl said goodbye, and finished making a final note in her notepad. She ripped off the now used page and left the room. She began walking through the hall to the recreational room where the professor spent most of his time. She was hoping to find him there so she could inform him of the soon-to-be new arrival. Her hope was rewarded as the room came into view, as did the professor.

"Professor," Ororo spoke, announcing her presence as well as gathering his attention.

Xavier rotated his wheelchair so that he was facing Ororo and he smiled warmly, "Ah, Storm. How may I help you?"

Ororo returned his smile and extended her hand, the note gripped softly in her fingers, "I just finished a phone call with a girl who just applied to the school. I jotted down some information that she provided, but she will still have to fill out some paperwork when she gets here."

The professor took the paper from Ororo, reviewing it, "I assume this was the call we received earlier?"

Ororo nodded, letting her eyes wander slightly as she lost herself in thought.

The professor sensed her uneasiness and cleared his throat, lowering the paper to look up at the tall woman, "Is there something else you need to tell me?" He questioned her, one thin eyebrow raised on his otherwise hairless head.

Ororo redistributed her weight onto her right foot, meeting the professor's gaze, "Something about her story seems off. Too rehearsed, too vague."

The professor met her worried gaze with a warm and reassuring smile, "We are no strangers to people with hidden pasts. Let us see how this one pans out, shall we?"

* * *

Almost immediately after she ended the call with the school, Cassie gathered her things and began her trek to the manor. The business card had a location on it, and she assumed that if the number was still the same, there was a good chance the address hadn't changed either. Cassie had been in many cities in her travels the last two years, and she had gotten lost many times. Luckily, the subway where she had placed the call had a map and she discovered that the street the card had claimed the manor was on was only a few blocks north. If the map hadn't been there, she would have gotten lost again. Her large duffle bag was growing heavy on her back, and the smaller bag she held on her shoulder was starting to cause her discomfort. But she couldn't think of any of these pains as, just a few feet in front of her, the manor came into view and a smile broke out onto her face.

She made it.

* * *

Kitty was changing into her pajamas in the room she shared with Rogue when there was a knock on her door. She pulled her nightgown over her head and yelled, "Coming!" to whoever was on the other side of the door. She jogged over to the wall connected to the door and phased through casually, seeing Storm standing on the other side of the door. She smiled cheerily, "Hi Ms. Munroe!"

Storm gave her a soft smile in return, "Hello Kitty. The professor has asked me to request that you show a new student around the premises. He said you're the best candidate for a good first impression."

Her smile still glued to her face, she said, "Of course! I'd love to! When are they getting here?"

"She said she would arrive either tonight, or early tomorrow morning. We will fetch you if she arrives tonight, so please continue with your normal nighttime routine." Storm said before giving a curt nod and continuing down the hallway.

Kitty was excited. They hadn't gotten anyone new in a very long time.

* * *

Cassie paused at the gate, taking in the breathtaking view of the enormous mansion in front of her. It truly was a sight to behold. Shaking off her admiration for the view, she reached out and pressed the buzzer, the abrupt noise causing her to jump slightly. There was a pause before a voice riddled with static came through the speaker, "Hello, who is here?"

Cassie cleared her throat, "Cassie? I spoke with someone earlier on the phone?"

"Oh, we were expecting you! Please, come in!"

No sooner than Cassie heard the speaker's response, did the giant metal gates creak open, allowing Cassie entrance to the beautiful mansion. She took her time walking up the winding pathway to the door, admiring everything she saw along the way. The trees, the grass, the flowers, and especially the fountain. Cassie had a certain attraction to water based artwork.

She made her way to the door finally, taking a deep breath before knocking on the looming structure. The door swung open to reveal a lively looking young girl in a night gown. She was grinning excitedly and Cassie felt slightly intimidated by her energy, but also extremely happy that she was being greeted in such a way. The girl stuck out a hand as a way of greeting and said, "Hi! My name's Kitty, nice to meet you!"

Cassie took her hand in her own and shook it once, "Cassie."

Kitty beamed brighter, "That's a pretty name. C'mon inside, I'll show you around!"

Cassie obliged and entered the grand foyer, still in awe of how simply beautiful everything was. The doors shut behind her and Cassie looked toward Kitty, "Where do we start?"

Kitty grabbed her arm, paying no mind to any personal space Cassie previously had, and pulled her along to the first room, "So, like, this is the kitchen, where we keep the food and drinks. By the way, do not come in when Kurt's in here alone or you'll lose your appetite for, like, a month. He's my best friend, but the man cannot cook."

Cassie giggled slightly, "Who's Kurt?"

Kitty shrugged away her question, "Oh don't worry about people's names, you'll meet everyone sooner or later." She continued leading them from room to room, asking her questions every now and then.

"So is your name just 'Cassie' or, like, is it short for something?"

"It's short for Casanova, but for obvious reasons I prefer Cassie."

"What's your last name, Casanova?"

"It's just Cassie. My last name is Reeds."

"Where are you from?"

"Indiana, a small town."

The questions seemed never ending until finally Kitty said, "Oh! This is the last place; your room! I'm right down the hall if you need anything at all. I hope you like living here, Cassie."

Cassie gave Kitty a warm smile, "I'm sure I will Kitty. Thank you for showing me around."

"No problem! Get some rest; we'll introduce you in the morning. Night!" Kitty spoke as she walked away, waving. Cassie watched her until she disappeared through a door. Literally, through the door. Cassie chuckled and walked into her new room in her new home.

After sitting her things down in the chair in the corner, she got her pajamas and headed to the bathroom down the hall where Kitty had showed her. Armed with her (more or less) fresh clothes and some toiletries that she may or may not have stolen, she braved the empty hall and walked into the bathroom. Locking the door behind her, she disrobed and turned on the water in the shower. It had been a long time since she had a proper shower. One not surrounded by equally nude strangers and lukewarm water running through the pipes. She couldn't wait for the essentially scalding water to hit her skin and make her feel truly clean again. She took her time in the shower, making sure to thoroughly massage her scalp, clean every crevice of her body, and exfoliate her face. She then turned off the water and donned her towel, wrapping it around her figure. She stepped out, and wiped off the condensation off the mirror, taking a look at herself. The image staring back was clear, which was a change from the dirty and spot covered mirrors from the public bathrooms. She felt as though she hadn't seen herself in a long time.

Her hair was longer than it had been in a while, past her shoulders by a few inches. Her tips were still blue from when she saved up her money to color it herself in a YMCA bathroom in the middle of the night. Her bangs were choppy and uneven due to the fact that she cut them herself to keep the hair out of her face, and it covered all of her forehead. Her hair was dripping wet, so she didn't really know what it looked like dry, but she assumed it was as much of a curly mess as normal. Her face was riddled with blemishes. They seemed to be focused on her forehead, mid-brow, and chin and they looked to be quite angry. She hadn't really had access to the best products hygiene wise, and she was actually pretty surprised that she hadn't gotten a staph infection, or worse. She had a small scar on her right eyebrow, and freckles on her cheeks and nose, but other than that she had a blank canvas. Her face was round, but her cheeks were hollower than they should be, considering the fact that her diet the last two years had been anything but regular or healthy, and she had giant bags under her eyes.

She stood there for a minute, taking in the person she saw before her, before dressing herself in her blue sleep shorts and yellow t-shirt. She then gathered her things and left the bathroom. Without paying attention, Cassie bumped into someone on her way back to her room. She stumbled back a bit before regaining her balance, and then looked to her collision partner. It was a boy with blonde, shaggy hair. He wore a shell necklace and a tank top, the combination giving off the impression that the boy before her enjoyed the beach or at the very least the outdoors. Cassie's eyes found their way to the ground immediately, her cheeks flushed, "I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

The boy chuckled, "It's all good, man." Even his voice sounded like a surfer, "I'm Alex, you must be new."

Cassie nodded, slowly looking back up to Alex's face, which held a welcoming grin, "Yeah. I'm Cassie. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Cassie. You done in the bathroom?" He asked, gesturing behind them.

She nodded, "Yeah, it's all yours."

He gave a small wave and a smile before heading inside, and Cassie continued on into her room. Once in her room, she put the dirty clothes and towel in the corner to deal with the next day. She then held out one hand, flicking her wrist away from her. All the water on her body moved towards her hand in tendrils. She rotated her wrist so that her palm was facing the ceiling and the water swirled around above it, creating a small orb of water. Once all of the water was off of her, she spread her fingers and lifted her palm slightly, the water evaporating immediately. She yawned, suddenly ready for bed. She chose the bed on the left and got comfortable, falling asleep soon after she lay down.

* * *

 **I am so much happier with this than I was reading Chapter One of the previous adaptation. I hope you enjoyed reading, and I will post chapter two as soon as I finish editing it. See you soon!**

 **-Catmandu22**


	3. Friend Or Foe

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the owner of X-Men Evolution, X-Men characters shown, or Marvel Comics.

 **Ok so, unlike the last update, this one is a combination of a few chapters because, honestly, the first few chapters after the initial one were just pure filler without purpose or plot. So I kept some things, but I changed a lot. Hope you enjoy.**

 **Also! I've added in a few characters that will make an appearance in this chapter. The one of the most note is Psylocke, or Betsy Braddock. She is by far one of my favorite X-men, and to have a fanfic written by me without my favorite brit would just be subpar. So, for the sake of timeline, let's just assume she joined right after the whole ordeal with Apocalypse.**

 **AUTHORS NOTE: As of 11/11/17 this chapter has been edited and updated**

* * *

Cassie slept well for the first time in a few months. She woke up to the sun streaming in through the blinds of the window, and the sound of people in the house. With a stretch, she rolled out of bed and threw on a sports bra and a clean shirt. She opened the door to the hallway tentatively, only to see it abuzz with activity and filled with people she didn't know. She stepped out into the chaos in front of her and began making her way to the kitchen to grab some breakfast before attempting to introduce herself to the people in the house. It seemed like a task best set upon with food in your stomach.

She got to the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the table and poured herself a glass of milk, all without being noticed by the kitchen full of people.

Then Kitty ruined her plan.

"Cassie!" Kitty exclaimed, waving her over to sit next to her. Unfortunately this kind gesture also called the attention of everyone else in the room to Cassie.

She now had approximately thirteen pairs of eyes on her and she suddenly felt like disappearing into the wall like Kitty did the night before. She swallowed, "Um, hi." As she made her way around the table to the seat next to Kitty, she felt eyes on her, following her. It was not a comfortable experience. She sat down and took a bite out of her apple. She noticed everyone was still looking at her, and she spoke around her apple, "Um, hi."

The person sitting directly across from her smiled, "Hey I'm Bobby. This is Jubilee, Jaime, and Ray." He pointed to each person as he said their name, and Cassie gave a small nod.

Kitty elbowed the girl sitting on the other side of Kitty, and she looked up from her book. She raised an eyebrow at Kitty, "What?" She had a southern accent and an icy demeanor. She noticed Cassie and nodded once, "Hey, I'm Rogue."

Cassie sat there, eating her apple as everyone introduced themselves to her. Thankfully they took the initiative and did most of the work, and all she had to do was sit there, nodding and responding with a curt "Hello."

Once everyone had said their hellos, the room regained its comfortable buzz and Cassie felt like she could relax and finish her small breakfast in peace. Even Kitty left her alone for the most part, which Cassie reminded herself to thank her for that later.

* * *

Cassie was sitting in her room, having recently finished unpacking the small amount that she brought with her. At the moment she had been taking a breather and admiring the view out of her window. Yet again Kitty interrupted her peace by knocking on her door. With a sigh she walked to the door and let her in, "Hey Kitty. Somehow I knew it was you before I opened the door."

Kitty giggled, "Get used to it. Professor wants me to take you shopping for some essentials."

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "I have clothes."

They both looked down at her attire. Tattered shorts, a stained t-shirt, and two mismatched socks. Kitty chuckled a bit, "I see. Anyway, that's really not what he meant. You start school on Monday, so we're going out for supplies. Though, you may want to grab some winter clothes considering it's like 20 degrees outside. So get dressed, and we'll leave." Kitty left right after speaking, in her traditional way: phasing through the wall.

* * *

Cassie met Kitty downstairs by the door, surprised to see that she wasn't alone. She cleared her throat, "I thought it was just me and you Kitty."

Kitty met her confusion with yet another smile, "I never said that. Like, what's the fun in shopping without other people? Rogue and Gambit are coming with."

Cassie froze, all color falling from her face. Her body locked up at the sound of that name.

Gambit.

It couldn't be the same one. That was _years_ ago and in a different state. It just couldn't be the same one. But how many people could call themselves 'Gambit'? It's not a very common name. No. It had to be the same. Cassie didn't want to believe it, but she knew it was true. The good thing is he didn't seem to recognize her.

Yet.

"Cassie?" Kitty's voice, riddled with worry and concern, snapped her out of her trance.

Cassie blinked a few times to bring herself back to reality, shaking her head slightly. She looked down at Kitty, "Sorry. I zoned out."

"Y' look like y' saw a ghost, cher." Gambit said, his voice grating to Cassie's ears and striking her anxiety.

"I'm fine." She spoke bluntly and opened the door, beginning to leave, "Let's go."

Kitty, Rogue, and Gambit exchanged looks of confusion before following.

* * *

"That is literally the ugliest color Kitty." Rogue drawled out in reference to the baby pink backpack that sat in Kitty's hands.

"No it's not!" Kitty defended, "It's cute! Why did I bring you, again?"

Cassie finally looked at the bag, immediately her mouth curving down in disdain, "Ew, no I agree with Rogue, Kitty. That's not really my style. The navy blue one behind you is nice." She reached behind Kitty to grab said bag and showed it to her small group.

Rogue nodded approvingly, "I like that one a lot better than the god awful pink thing."

Gambit cocked a smirk that made Cassie's stomach turn, "Much betta."

Ignoring Gambit, Cassie addressed Rogue, "Yeah I think I'll get this one. What else do I need?"

Kitty pondered the question for a moment before responding, "You need a couple of winter jackets and some jeans, and then I think we're good."

Cassie made a face of distaste, "I don't really feel comfortable with the professor buying me clothes."

Gambit placed his hand on Cassie's shoulder, causing her to stiffen visibly, "He don't take no for an answer, cher."

Cassie quickly shrugged off his hand and took a step away, "Fine. Lead the way Kit."

* * *

After check out, the small group headed to the car, which was concerning to Cassie. If she got in that small, enclosed space again with Gambit she was going to have a panic attack. So before she got into the car, she searched the surrounding area for an escape route. Her eyes fell on a fitness center.

Perfect.

She cleared her throat, "I'm going to check out the gym over there. You guys head home, I'll call if I need a ride home okay?" She didn't wait for an answer, knowing that Kitty would try to argue, and jogged over to the building.

* * *

At the front desk there was a girl with hot pink hair and a smile plastered on her face, which looked anything but inviting. Cassie walked over and the girl spoke without much emotion, "Welcome to the Bayville Health and Fitness Building. My name is Sarah. Are you a member?"

Cassie shook her head, "No, I'm new to town. How much is it to join?"

Sarah sighed and spoke, clearly reciting lines she had memorized, " Membership is free, but special events such as triathlons, marathons, competitions cost various fees to participate in. Can we interest you in a membership today, ma'am?"

Cassie chuckled a bit at the girl's attitude, "Where do I sign up?"

Sarah raised a brow and dug around behind the desk for a second before handing Cassie a clip board, "Here. Fill this out."

Cassie filled in everything that was required. Things like; name, date, age, date of birth, current location, contact information, etc. She handed the clipboard back to Sarah, "Thank you for joining our fitness family, we hope you stay with us for a long time." Sarah said in a monotone voice, causing Cassie to laugh yet again.

Cassie shook her head, "You crack me up. I'd hate my job too if I had to talk to sweaty people all day. Nice to meet you." Cassie gave a polite smile and headed outside again. She was glad she signed up, now she had a place to escape to if needed. Also, that Sarah girl was a riot. As Cassie stepped outside she was pleasantly surprised to see that it has started snowing.

* * *

Cassie made it home, and by the time that she had arrived there was a decent layer of snow covering the ground. She opened the front door to see everyone decked out in winter clothes and snow coats, and running around, buzzing with excitement. Cassie walked over to Alex, "What's going on?"

Alex shot her a smile, bringing some color to her cheeks, "Hey Cassie. First snowfall of the year to cover the ground. It's like a tradition to have a snowball fight."

Cassie raised an eyebrow, "All this excitement over being able to throw balls of ice at each other?" She started walking towards her room with Alex alongside her.

Alex chuckled, "Not quite. Some of us have dubbed it 'Extreme Snowballing'. You'll see when you get out there."

Cassie grabbed her new snow coat from her room and looked up at Alex, "Extreme Snowballing?"

Alex took her hand and pulled her towards the stairs, "C'mon, slow poke. They'll start without you." Cassie smiled a bit at the skin to skin contact, and willingly let him drag her down the stairs.

* * *

Once everyone was outside and divided into teams everyone quieted down for the rules. Cassie still wasn't sure of everyone's names so she just stuck with Alex. The only person she knew on her team besides Alex was Kitty.

Storm cleared her throat, "Rule number one. You can use your powers but only to charge snow, no direct hits, or to gain an advantage in strength, speed, defense, or numbers. Once the fight itself starts, no more duplicating. Rule two. No sore losers, meaning no shooting after the game is over or you are 'killed'. To win you must be on the last team standing. To strike someone out, you have to hit them in one of the 'kill-zones'. These include: the chest, back of the head, and the back. Also, if you are struck to the ground you are out. You have one minute to prepare your fort" Storm stepped back and waited for the snow fly.

Bobby, who had claimed the position of team captain, was instructing his team to make a fort around their area while he and Jubilee started making snowballs. Cassie looked toward her team, trying to figure out who was in charge. It seemed the tall raven haired girl had decided to take charge. She cracked her knuckles, "Okay, start making and charging snowballs. Jamie luv," she turned to Jamie, "are you any good at making snowballs?" Jamie nodded and grinned. The girl smiled back, "Ok then. You make the snowballs, Alex and I will focus on charging them. Who can make the best fort?"

Cassie raised her hand tentatively, "I think I can be of assistance in that area. I control snow."

The girl grinned at her, "Make us the best fort you can think of." Her accent was heavy and English.

Jamie had begun multiplying himself until there were six Jamies, and then they all began making snowballs. Cassie walked to the very front of their designated area, feeling suddenly shy to expose her ability to everyone. She shook off her fear and closed her eyes. She rubbed her hands together and spread out her arms and clenched her fists, causing the snow on the ground to form a small, and very long, mound. She raised her arms up, the snow lifting and creating a wall that stretched far above everyone's heads. She unclenched her fists and brought her arms down tight beside her. She extended her arms again, loosely so that her arms were still bent at the elbows and rolled her wrists, fanning out her fingers as she did so. Windows and openings formed in the wall before the snow hardened into ice.

"Time!" Storm shouted, causing Cassie to open her eyes and look up at the floating woman.

"No fair!" Bobby shouted at her team, "Betsy has a freakin water bender over there!"

"Drake, your name is Iceman, you don't have a lot of room to talk!" Betsy shouted back, reminding Cassie of her name.

Storm announced the start of the battle, "3… 2… 1… Go!"

Betsy charged a snowball until it was glowing purple, and then she threw it towards Bobby's fort. It exploded upon impact, "Take that, ya mangy git!"

"OW! That hurt Betsy!" an angry Tabitha threw one of hers as well. Her aim was off, and instead of hitting Betsy, she just took off a chunk of the ice wall when her snow ball exploded.

Cassie was hiding low behind their fort. She looked up at Alex who was throwing supercharged snowballs and looking like he was having a blast. She spoke to him, "Do I just… throw?"

Alex laughed at her, "Yes, Cassie. Just have fun."

Cassie picked up a snow ball and put a thin layer of ice around it. She stood and quickly threw it without really aiming. It hit Bobby in the face, and she yelped and ducked back behind the fort. Bobby yelled something inaudible and threw a snowball at one of the Jamies. Cassie decided she would be better use on the defense, so threw her hands in the air. Snow followed her hands and a wall of snow came up in front of the Jamie, protecting him. Bobby yelled again, "Aww! It was about to hit him! Why…" he was interrupted when he was hit in the face by one of Alex's snowballs.

Eventually the casualties included two Jamies, Colossus, Kurt, Jubilee, and Sam. That left the rest of the Jamie clones, Betsy, Alex, Kitty, and Warren, and Cassie left on Cassie's team. Cassie had stuck to her job as defense, protecting her team from the snowy attacks of the enemy. While she was protecting Betsy however, Ray hit Alex in the chest with a snow ball, marking Alex as 'out'. Cassie looked around for Kitty, but she and Warren had disappeared. Cassie stood and started throwing snow balls, due to the fact that it was only her and Betsy at this point. She managed to hit Roberto in the back, but missed with most of her throws. Betsy threw two more snow-bombs, and one hit Tabitha on the chest, the other hit Amara on the back of the head. They both grumbled as they walked off the playing field. Jamie muttered under his breath as he and his duplicates walked off the field shaking off snow.

"Cassie!" Betsy shouted for her.

Cassie looked toward her, "Yeah?"

Betsy ducked under the fort, encouraging Cassie to do the same, "On the count of three, I'm going to levitate the pile of remaining snow balls. You shoot em out, six at a time. Got it?" Cassie nodded.

"3… 2… 1… Now!"

Betsy lifted her arms up, and half the remaining pile of snowballs lifted up. Cassie swept her arms across her chest in a large arch, and the snowballs shot out, six at a time, super fast. Ray and Rahne shouted as they were pelted. Bobby quickly ducked behind a wall of ice. He made another wall in front of Ray and Rahne before they actually were hit. Betsy stomped her foot, then she was hit by four snowballs. One hit her on the chest and she was out. As she made her way off the field, she whistled shrilly.

Bobby's team didn't notice a winged man come barreling out from behind the house, pelting them with snowballs from above. Bobby made a dome around him while the rest of his team was hit. Rahne and Ray were out. Bobby was glaring up at Warren, which is probably why he didn't notice when Kitty phased up from the ground a few feet behind him, snowball in hand. She aimed and threw the snowball at Bobby's back. It made impact and he jumped. He turned towards Kitty, then to Warren, and settled on Betsy. He made the connection between the three of them when she crossed her arms and smiled at him. He hung his head in defeat.

Storm smiled, "It seems we have a winner! Team Betsy! Cassie, if you could dispose of the forts for us."

Cassie nodded. She extended her arms, palms down and pushed towards the ground, struggling against the weight of the two large forts. Both forts sunk back to the ground. When she was done she walked over to Alex and Kitty, a smile on her face despite being out of breath, "This was so much fun! Is it always like this around here?"

Alex brought her in for a side hug with one arm, "Not always with the snow, but we do like to have fun."

Cassie blushed a bit and hugged back, looking at Kitty, "I like it here."

Kitty hugged the side of her body that Alex wasn't, "I'm glad!"

Cassie smiled to herself. She felt as though she could really feel at home here, eventually. However, there were some loose ends that needed to be tied up, and she didn't trust anyone to help her with those quite yet. With hope, maybe she could one day, but for the time being she would have to handle them on her own. Still, as she stood sandwiched between two smiling teens, she couldn't help but feel like trusting them would be an easy task.

* * *

 **This literally was three chapters that I took all the bull crap out of and condensed. 2013 me really liked filler I guess. Hope you enjoy this filler episode to further flesh out the exposition a bit. See you next time!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-Catmandu22**


	4. A Day in the Life Of

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the owner of X-Men Evolution, X-Men characters shown, or Marvel Comics.

 **The contents of this chapter are more or less completely new. I felt I needed to further the plot at a slightly quicker pace, but I wasn't quite done with the exposition, so there's a bit of both happening here. I wanted to pick up the pace, seeing as the last few chapters were pretty slow, so here you go!**

 **Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave a comment with your opinion!**

 **WARNING: Use of cigarettes is present in this chapter**

 **AUTHORS NOTE: As of 11/11/17 this chapter has been edited and updated**

* * *

It was two o'clock in the morning in the mansion, and Cassie had yet to sleep. She was sitting on her bed, her face illuminated by the light of the computer sitting in her lap. She had convinced Kitty to let her borrow her laptop under the guise of using it to cyber stalk some celebrities. She felt bad lying to Kitty, but she felt it was necessary. While she liked Kitty, she wasn't absolutely sure she could trust her with everything; and with the sensitive items Cassie kept secret, she needed to be absolutely sure before she could tell anyone anything.

So she sat propped up against her backboard, her back supported by a few pillows, searching the internet with the private browser function active. It was proving to be harder than she had originally anticipated, "It's like I'm searching for Bigfoot or something…" she muttered quietly to herself exasperatedly. She let out a groan of frustration and ran her hands over her face, restraining herself from shouting out in annoyance. She removed her hands from her face and lightly traced the keys with her fingers, "Maybe if I narrow down the location I'll have more luck. Think about it Cassie, where is the most likely place he would be." She moved the computer off of her lap and stood. She began pacing the room and thinking aloud, "We split in Queens two years ago. What did he say when he left? What were we talking about?"

She leaned against the wall next to the window, closing her eyes in an attempt to focus better on remembering…

 _"Will you just calm down and think about this rationally?" Cassie pleaded with the younger boy standing across from her, who at the moment was anything but calm._

 _"How can I calm down when that man is still out there, Cassie? How can I ever be calm again?" Jordan spat at her as he paced the small, dimly lit space in anger. His eyes met hers, showing his anger plainly, "I don't know how you can be calm. He did worse to you."_

 _Cassie bit her tongue, refraining from lashing out at him like he was lashing out at her. She took a small breath, "I'd rather just forget about that Jordan. I don't want to think about it ever again. We left, and I want to move on. Find people who can help us."_

 _"He's still out there! We weren't the only ones Cassie! There were others he was tormenting, and you'd just leave them to rot?" He took a few steps closer to her, meeting her with aggression, "And for what? A chance to pretend we're normal? We aren't normal."_

 _Cassie took half a step back, attempting to put some space between the two of them, "No, Jordan. I want to help them, but we barely made it out of there alive. If we go back, we will die."_

 _Jordan gave her a look of great disdain, "And if you keep going where you're going, they will."_

 _Cassie's eyebrows bunched up in the middle of her face, "What are you saying, Jordan."_

 _He scoffed, bending over to pick up his bag off of the ground. He shrugged it onto his back, "I'm saying I'm done with you. You may be able to put all of this behind you, but I can't. I'm going to find that man. And I'm going to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone else."_

 _Cassie reached out and grabbed his arm, "Wait, where are you going? We have to stay together!"_

 _Jordan shook off her hand and shook his head, "No we don't. I'm heading towards the city. It'll be my best chance for information. Goodbye Cassie." He looked at her, and for a second his eyes softened and she could see the sadness that sat in them. She stepped back, letting him leave._

 _"I love you Jordan."_

"New York City!" Cassie exclaimed, before quickly slapping her hands over her mouth. She was so lost in her thoughts she had forgotten it was so late. She quickly ran back to the computer, muttering excitedly, "How did I forget such a massive detail. It was staring me in the face."

She quickly typed into the search bar: "Unknown Young Male Vigilante New York City"

She was met with a plethora of resources, too many to sift through. She groaned again. It felt as though she was back at square one. Then a link caught her eye. It was a forum titled New York City Vigilantes. She clicked on the link, and it took her to a page dedicated to identifying/naming the unknown '"heroes" of New York City. There were hundreds of submissions, but there was an active list of unidentified people. This was a promising discovery, as there were only about 15 on the list. "One of them could be Jordan." Cassie said while biting her lip nervously. She wrote down the name of the site and the URL to use later, and then closed the page. She made sure to wipe her search history for good measure before shutting down the computer. She looked at the electric clock sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. It read 2:56 AM. Cassie cringed slightly, remembering that Kitty told her the household wakeup call was at 6 AM. She lay down, rolling onto her side and trying to get some sleep.

* * *

When the preset alarm went off at 6 AM, Cassie felt like death would be a welcome alternative to getting out of bed. After she laid down to go to sleep at 3, her brain was too abuzz with excitement to allow her any sleep until around 4:30. She had gotten more sleep on the subway ride into Bayville. "Wow, you look like crap."

Cassie rolled over to face the door; her eyes meeting Kitty who she assumed invited herself in, as Kitty had the tendency to do. She groaned, "What did you expect, Sleeping Beauty?"

Kitty shrugged, a playful smile sitting on her lips, "No, but I also didn't expect a troll. Life's just, like, full of surprises, isn't it?"

Cassie covered her head with a pillow trying to block out the valley girl, "Why can't I sleep longer?"

Kitty walked to the foot of the bed and sat on it, "You have some final stuff to do for the professor, and we have to enroll you in the high school. Boring, but like, necessary stuff."

This enticed another groan from Cassie, "But I don't want to."

Kitty giggled, "I don't blame you. Still doesn't change the fact that you have to. Get ready and be down in ten, or I'll send Logan up. And trust me when I say he's not quite so nice." Kitty stood as she said this, heading towards the door. With a quick wave she phased through the door, leaving Cassie alone in the room.

Cassie sat up and swung her legs off of the bed, standing unhappily. She made her way to her drawers to pull out a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of old and well-worn jean shorts. She grabbed a bra from the drawer below and quickly got dressed. She pulled her hair into a loose ponytail at the top of her head and took a look at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy, which was to be expected. She sighed as she tugged at the skin under her eyes lightly, "I wish I could hide these." She frowned as she inspected herself a little more, "I wish I could hide a lot of things on my face actually." She had lived on the streets for three years, and the wear and tear was evident on her face. What was once delicate and soft was now harsh and scarred.

Cassie remembered what Kitty had said about sending Logan and, deciding that she didn't want to see that pan out this particular morning, she opened the door to the hallway and began the walk downstairs. As she passed the others who lived in the house with her, she tried to remember each of their names mentally. She was on a first name basis with only a few people in the mansion, and she was still trying to learn everyone's names. It was harder than she thought it would be. She saw Alex as she was coming down the stairs and a smile broke out on her face. Besides Kitty, Cassie had become the closest with Alex these last few days. She caught his eye and waved, causing him to reciprocate in kind. She continued walking, the smile she wore fading as she realized she was still running on an hour of sleep.

She finally made it to the kitchen where Kitty was waiting for her at the table. She took a seat next to her and reached out to grab a banana from the bowl of fruit in the center, "Hey Kit."

Kitty had a few papers in front of her on the table that she was sifting through when Cassie spoke to her. Kitty looked up and smiled at her, "Hey Cassie! I see my threat was enough to get you down here." Cassie shrugged and Kitty slid the papers over so that they were in front of Cassie, "Here. This is the stuff you need to fill out for the professor. Just like emergency info and stuff. After that we need to get you registered at the high school. Do you have a driver's license?"

Cassie began filling out the papers, nodding her head, "Yeah, I have a license."

Kitty responded with a smile. Luckily for Cassie, Kitty soon became distracted when she received a text message that required all of her attention. It was lucky for Cassie due to the fact that, while she hadn't really lied, she wasn't really telling the truth. She _did_ have a license, it just happened to be fake. It was a high quality forgery, so she wasn't too worried about the school finding her out, but she still felt bad for lying to Kitty. There were just too many variables for her to trust Kitty with at this point, so lying was really the only option. It wasn't personal, at least Cassie didn't mean for it to be.

The paper work wasn't difficult. It was basic information, and she finished filling out the forms in about ten minutes. There was a question gnawing at her in the back of her mind, however. Cassie had met her fair share of mutants in her life, and very few of them had a good handle on their powers. In the week that Cassie had been at the institute, she had used her abilities only twice in front of her classmates. There was no way that in those two isolated incidents that the professor would be able to know if Cassie could control her mutation effectively. It would have made sense to monitor her for a little longer before putting her in a school full of potential casualties. Yet here she was, end of week one and filling out her application to Bayville High. Sure, Cassie was confident in her ability to control her mutation, but her confidence in that area shouldn't be the deciding factor in this situation. As she thought, her eyes wandered to observe the luxurious décor of her surroundings. As she was deeply observing the light fixture above her head, she had a revelation. Appearances matter to people who are active in society.

That idea had become foreign to her in the time she spent living under bridges and sleeping on subways. The idea that teenagers belonged in school had been all but forgotten to her. The idea that sitting in a room for hours on end and learning things she wouldn't apply to her life was an effective and efficient way to spend her time was lost on her. She assumed that it wasn't lost on the professor, and while she wasn't sure why he was placing her into the school so quickly after meeting her, she understood that it was simply where teenagers went during the day. If Cassie was meant to fit in at the institute, she would have to adapt and learn to stifle her suspicion for the time being.

Appearances were important when wanting to be noticed, but even more so important when trying to fly under the radar.

Once she was done with the registration, she handed the papers to Kitty who took them to the professor. This left Cassie alone in the kitchen for a few minutes. Well, she was alone at first, until someone walked in. She turned her head to greet whoever entered and her blood ran cold.

Remy.

Gambit.

Her demeanor changed immediately to one of discomfort and disgust. A part of her was afraid to be alone in a room with him. Another part of her was enraged, and yet another part jumped at the opportunity to rip him to shreds. She suppressed her emotions and tried to not say anything too aggressive. Just because she knew who he was, didn't mean he knew who she was. She gave a tight smile, "Hi."

He returned the smile, his far more genuine than hers, "Hello, cher. Have a good morning?"

She responded coldly, "No, not really."

He didn't miss a beat, "That's too bad. Let ol' Remy know if he can do anything to improve upon it." He smirked, an expression seemingly glued to his face at all times.

Cassie scoffed softly, "I doubt it." She stood to throw away her banana peel, "I'm going to look for Kitty." She left the room and entered the hallway, happy to be out of the same room as him. She felt even more drained after the encounter, and she was in desperate need of anything to get her mind off of it. As if on cue, she saw Alex again. A small smile found its way to her face as she called out his name softly. He looked up from his phone and smiled.

He stood up from his position on the couch, "Hey Cassie. Good morning?"

She continued walking until she was directly in front of him, "As it stands right now, it could be better." She said with a shrug. He sat back down on the couch and she followed suit, "What are you doing?"

"Scrolling through twitter. It's pretty depressing at the moment," He answered, angling his phone slightly so she could see, "There's a lot of buzz in the news right now about mutants."

"Good or bad buzz?" Cassie asked as she read a few of the tweets on the screen.

"Little bit of both, but right now the bad is the loudest. Kinda sucks when you log on and all you see is how much the world hates you." Alex said matter-of-factly, seemingly unbothered by his own words.

Cassie donned a confused expression, "You don't seem too bothered by this revelation."

Alex shot her a smile, "Neither do you."

He wasn't wrong. Cassie found out a long time ago that people hated the existence of things they couldn't understand. What people did with this hate is what worried her, and honestly, a few mean tweets weren't the worst things she'd seen.

Cassie tightened her pony tail a little, feeling that it was falling, "Kitty is taking me to sign up for school today. What's on your agenda for the day?" she inquired.

Alex shrugged, "Not much." He looked up at her from his phone again, "If you want, we could hang out when you get done with Kitty. I could show you around the town."

Cassie felt excitement bubble up inside of her and she said, "That sounds awesome! I mean, only if you want to. I don't want to impose."

Alex chuckled, "Bro you're fine. You're cool, and I'm happy to help you get settled."

Cassie smiled slightly, "Cool. I'll come find you when I get back from the school. See you then." She spoke as she stood from the couch. She waved goodbye and headed back to the rec room, where she was hoping she would find Kitty. She had a feeling Gambit would still be in the kitchen so she was trying to avoid going back in there as much as possible. Luckily she was rewarded for her hope by finding Kitty talking to the professor in the recreational room. She walked over to the two of them, "Hey professor. Hey Kitty. Are we ready to go?"

Kitty smiled at her, "Yep! I was just getting the okay from the prof."

The professor smiled warmly at Cassie, "Hello Cassie. Kitty tells me you're excited to join the high school."

Cassie nodded, "Yes sir. For a short while in the first year after my dad died, I bounced around foster homes and they enrolled me in online school. I never made it to high school level, and it's been a while since I was in public school, so I'm really excited for the opportunity."

Xavier nodded and rested his hands on the arm rests of his chair, "Well, I hope it lives up to your expectations, my dear."

Cassie returned the smile, "Thank you."

Kitty smiled widely and hooked her arm around Cassie's elbow, "We'll get out of your hair now professor. Figuratively, obviously." She said with a wink.

* * *

"I have to take a what test?" Cassie said with much confusion in her voice.

The principal's secretary smiled politely albeit slightly forced, "A placement test, hon."

Cassie's eyebrows remained in the center of her forehead, crinkled with confusion, "What does that mean?"

The woman took a small breath, her mood seemingly growing in annoyance, "It means what it sounds like it means, hon. You have to take a test to figure out what classes you need to be placed in, since you don't have any previous schooling."

"Do I have to take the test now?" Cassie asked, biting her lip, suddenly getting very nervous. She hadn't even looked at anything pertaining to school in years. She had no idea she would be taking a test, and even if she had, she doubted any amount of studying would save her from failing.

The woman smiled yet again, even more strained than the first, "Yes ma'am. We have it ready; it should take a few hours. Is that okay? You really need to take it as soon as possible."

Cassie looked at Kitty in slight fear, and Kitty simply shrugged as a response. Cassie swallowed, "Okay sure. Let's do it."

* * *

Cassie fell onto the bed, burying her head into the mound of pillows, "I hated that."

Kitty chuckled, "Sorry, Cass. Didn't expect a test or else I would've like, told you."

Cassie spoke, her voice muffled by the pillow, "It's fine. I just really want to sleep now, if that's okay. I was supposed to hang out with Alex, but I don't think I'm up for it anymore. Could you tell him for me?"

Kitty gave her a small but bright smile, "Sure, I'll leave you alone. See ya Cassie."

Cassie waited until Kitty had left the room before getting up to lock the door. She knew that if Kitty really wanted in, the lock wouldn't stop her, but it would do enough to keep everyone else out. She lifted her mattress up and felt around under it, searching for the sheet of paper she had hidden there earlier. After her fingers grazed the paper, she slid it out and replaced the mattress onto the frame. Clutching the paper that held the precious link tightly in her hands, she walked over to the window. Slipping the paper into her pocket securely, the silently opened the window, yet again a feeling of quilt seeping into her bones. She hated lying to people, but if her life had proven anything to her it was that trust was a dangerous thing to give freely. It was something better kept to yourself, and her instinct of self-preservation won out against her distaste of lying. She took a deep breath and looked down from the window to the ground. She was on the third floor, so jumping directly to the ground wasn't a great idea. However, it seemed to be the only one present to her at this point in time. She took a moment to observe the situation and decided tonight might not be the best time to sneak out. If she jumped she could break her leg, and if she didn't break her leg, she had no way of getting back inside. She sighed in resignation and closed the window back up. She put her piece of paper back into its hiding place, and then she went over to unlock the door. She walked out into the hall way, searching for Alex. If she couldn't sneak out tonight, she might as well see if he was still up to hang out.

It took a few minutes, but she finally found him in the kitchen, going to town on a plate of leftover lasagna. She smiled slightly, "Hey Alex."

His head turned to meet her with his eyes and he brightened up a bit, "Cassie!" He spoke around him mouthful of food, "Kitty said you were taking a nap."

She shrugged as she sat down across from him, "I was going to, but I got bored. You still up to hang out?"

Alex nodded, swallowing his bite of food, "Yeah man. Not much is open right now, but the mall should still be if you wanna go there."

Cassie nodded excitedly, "Of course, that sounds great."

"Let me clean up my plate and we'll head out. Sound good?" Alex said as he stood up from his seat and took his dirty plate to the sink.

Cassie nodded yet again, steadily getting more excited at the prospect of having friends for the first time in a long time. She waited for him to clean off his plate and put it in the dish strainer. He led her to the garage where his jeep was parked.

The drive to the city was quiet, except for the music Alex had on the radio. It was nice to have some silence that wasn't weighted with fear. It was soothing to Cassie. Relaxing. Soon they pulled into the mall's parking lot, the large complex looming in front of them. Alex turned off the car and hopped out, Cassie following suit. They began walking toward the entrance. Out of nowhere, Cassie felt Alex stiffen next to her. She looked up at him, "Is everything okay, Alex?"

Alex gave her a tight smile, "Yeah, everything is fine."

 _Liar_ , Cassie thought. She couldn't really judge the act of lying, seeing as she did it quite frequently, but at least she was better at it.

"Hey Summers, how's it goin'?" A voice called out, drawing the attention of both Alex and Cassie to the speaker. The voice belonged to a lanky, and slightly dirty looking teenage boy who had been leaning against the exterior wall of the mall. He was in a group of similarly dressed teenaged boys; one who looked a sickly shade of green; one really… heavy set, for lack of a better term; and one had bright, fiery orange hair and a lit cigarette in his hand.

Alex replied curtly, "What's it to you, Alvers?" He spoke with bitterness laced into his words.

"Whoa man," The boy held up his hands, as if to show his innocence, "Just being friendly man." His line of sight drifted from Alex to Cassie, and his eyes sparked with something that kind of intimidated Cassie. He smirked, "Haven't seen you around before. The name's Lance."

She eyed Lance suspiciously, "Good to know."

The sickly looking boy hopped a little closer to Cassie (literally hopping, like on all four appendages), "Typically the polite response when someone tells you their name is to return the favor, y'know?" He spoke with a thick accent, either Jersey or New Yorker, Cassie couldn't tell.

Her eyes fell upon the redhead again as he lifted the cigarette to his lips and inhaled, all while making eye contact with Cassie. His gaze didn't match the rest of the boys he was surrounded by. Their eyes held mischief and life, while his were void of such things. Instead of mischief, his eyes held distrust and skepticism. He continued to stare at her, to the point where it was causing her discomfort. She shook her head slightly, returning her gaze to the sick looking boy in front of her, "Cassie." She said simply.

The green boy grinned, his yellow teeth clashing with his green skin, "I'm Toad, that's Blob." He referred to the larger boy leaning against the wall, who waved when his name was mentioned.

Cassie raised her eyebrows, "You don't say." She muttered under her breath.

Lance elbowed the ginger, "Introduce yourself to the lady, man."

Taking another long drag of his cigarette, he spoke dryly, "No." The smoke exited his mouth with his words, renewing the stench of smoke in the air.

Alex placed his hand on Cassie's shoulder, "Well, this has been great, but we have better things to do. Like avoid the four of you." Alex began to lead Cassie into the building.

"See you around Cassie!" Lance shouted at them, his voice suggesting that the terms in which they met next would be less than ideal.

Cassie shrugged away Alex's hand once they entered the building, "Who were those guys."

Alex responded, seeming far more relaxed than earlier, "The Brotherhood. Bad vibes man, you don't want to get involved with them. Trust me."

Cassie grew a small frown, "The Brotherhood? What even is that."

Alex threw his arm around her shoulders loosely, "Just a couple of idiots who like to cause trouble."

Cassie nodded, taking a deep breath. Her face contorted into one of distaste as she did so, due to the face that the strong stench of smoke still lingered in her nose. She hated cigarettes. She never understood people's obsession with them. In the case of the fire headed boy, however, she felt as though that was not the only thing she wouldn't understand about him, and despite Alex's warning, she felt as though he might be worth an investigation.

How bad could it be, really?

* * *

 **Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and again, feel free to leave a comment!**

 **Thanks again,**

 **-Catmandu22**


	5. New School, New Challenges

**Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the owner of X-Men Evolution, X-Men characters shown, or Marvel Comics.**

 **We've reached the point in rewriting this story where I realize just how genuinely rushed and terrible the original was. To be fair, I was like 13-15 when I first started writing it, so it's not as bad as it could have been. However, it's still REALLY FREAKING BAD. Like it's all just bad, guys. I cannot express how very badly the original was written. My original thought was that I could just take what was already written for each chapter and rewrite it, but NOPE. It's too poorly put together for that. So now I'm just loosely following the plot presented and trying to piece together what I hope to be a much better story arch.**

 **On a slightly more positive note, thank you for the great response I've received from the previous chapters I've posted! People seem to be enjoying it, and it makes me really happy. Thank you so much for reading!**

 **Quick apology for not posting for a few weeks, I've gotten a side job babysitting a one year old and it's been hard to find some time to sit down and write. I'll try to get the next one out a little sooner for you all.**

 **Also there's a cameo that's in here for no other reason than I really wanted him to be mentioned, and he probably will never return, lol.**

 **AUTHORS NOTE: As of 11/11/17 this chapter has been edited and updated**

* * *

"I failed?!" Cassie exclaimed after reading the letter she had received that morning. Her heart dropped to her feet. She wasn't sure what that meant, but she had a feeling it wasn't good. Upon further investigation of the letter, she found the bit of information that she had been looking for. "Remedial classes? I have to be in _remedial_ classes?" She threw the letter onto the bed and collapsed next to it with her head in her hands, "God I knew I didn't do well, but I didn't think I would fail."

There was a knock on the door, "Cassie?"

It was Kitty, typical. Kitty and Cassie had become really close over the last week. She was a wonderful person, and really nice to Cassie. Cassie sighed, "Come in."

Kitty phased through the door with a smile on her face, the smile soon fading as soon as she saw the state Cassie was in, "The professor said you got your letter from the school. I guess it didn't go well."

Cassie held up the piece of paper that had ruined her day, "Remedial classes. REMEDIAL CLASSES."

Kitty cringed, "Wow, that's rough. At least you can still go, right?"

Cassie rolled over onto her stomach, "I am so dumb."

Kitty rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Cassie on her bed, "You aren't dumb. You just haven't been to school in a while. That, like, doesn't make you dumb."

Cassie groaned loudly into the pillow, "I cannot believe this." She kicked her legs out, "This is stupid." She sat up, "Can I borrow your laptop again? I want to watch YouTube."

Kitty shrugged, "Yeah, I'll go grab it for you."

Cassie gave her a small smile as she left the room, and for what felt like the hundredth time, she felt guilt sink into her skin.

She would make a terrible villain, she decided.

* * *

It was approximately 4 o'clock in the afternoon when Kitty let Cassie borrow her laptop, and by the time Cassie had looked at the clock again it was almost 10. She had been scouring the page she had found, narrowing her search even further from the small list she started with. She had eliminated the females on the list immediately, as well as any that were identified as being older. This left her with about five people, five potential suspects. Cassie took down some notes using the information presented by the forum, and prepared to sneak out. This time she was prepared, she had a way to get out without hurting herself. She slipped off her shirt and replaced it with her black hoodie. She put the paper with the important information into her jean pocket. She walked over to the window, a glass of water in her hand, and opened the window. She took a breath and poured the water out of the glass over her hand, morphing it into a floating orb of water as it poured out. She split the orb in half and flattened them out before clenching her fists, turning them into dense ice. She stepped onto them, one foot on each, and extended her arms outward, the ice following suit as they carried her out of the window and into the air. She swallowed nervously as she floated into the sky, towards the inner part of the city.

* * *

"Damn it. Another dead end." She sighed from her perch atop a building before she pulled out her list to cross off the second bit of info of the night. She stood and took off in a sprint toward the building on the right, leaping across the empty space between the two buildings and grabbing the ledge of the building she had just jumped to. With a slight groan she pulled herself up onto the top of the building with a small amount of trouble. She crouched on the edge, catching her breath for a moment.

"Who are you?"

Cassie looked up at the red and blue clad figure standing above her, hands planted firmly on his hips. Cassie made sure her hood was secure on her head before responding, "Who are you?"

Even though the man was wearing a mask, Cassie would almost see the shock on his face, "You don't know who I am!?" He exclaimed, to which Cassie responded with a shrug. He practically shouted, "I'm Spiderman!"

Cassie chuckled a bit, "Nice name." Cassie observed the man in front of her. He stood tall and confident, but he was also wearing bright colors and a spider logo on his chest. It wasn't quite the most inconspicuous costume, and it looked very cartoonish.

Spiderman narrowed his eyes at Cassie, "Now, who are you? It's not every day you see a girl leaping from rooftop to roof top, stalking people."

Cassie pulled a face of slight disdain, "I'm trying to find someone." She spoke as she stood, matching his stance.

He crossed his arms, "Have you thought of a less suspicious way?" He gestured to the city below, "This is kind of my turf, and suspicious activity is typically frowned upon."

She rolled her eyes, becoming increasingly bored with the conversation, "Not a lot I can do, not that it's any of your business; but he disappeared off the radar like two years ago and I haven't heard from him since. I caught wind that he's been hanging out here, so here I am."

Spiderman narrowed his eyes again, "Well, as sad as that story is, you can't just jump around on top of buildings dressed like a mugger. It freaks people out. How about I keep an eye out for your missing person for you?"

Cassie gave him a tight smile, "Thanks, but no thanks Spiderman. I can handle this. I'll get off your "turf" for the night."

Spiderman extended an arm out to his side, "Good. Don't cause trouble now." He winked and then shot a stream out of his wrist and flung himself off the building, swinging away like Tarzan.

Cassie watched him swing away, "What a weirdo."

* * *

It had been four days, and Cassie had yet to be able to sneak out again, which was causing her no small amount of stress. However, the largest current source of stress for Cassie was the fact that it was her first day of school. Cassie had never gone to a public school, despite what she had told the professor. She wasn't used to people being a part of her daily life, which was to be expected from someone who had no one to depend on for the last two years. She stood in front of Kitty's door, having just knocked rather aggressively, waiting for Kitty to answer. Kitty had offered to help Cassie get ready for her first day, which alleviated a small amount of stress from Cassie. She was even somewhat excited to have her help her, it felt like she and Cassie were friends. Cassie chewed on her bottom lip nervously until Kitty opened the door to her bed room. Kitty smiled brightly, already dressed and ready for the day, "Cassie! Are you ready to get ready?"

Cassie nodded, the stress evident on her face, "Yeah. Kind of nervous though."

Kitty grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room Kitty and Rogue shared, "That's fine. C'mon, let's get you ready!"

Kitty led Cassie to the small vanity that was in the corner of the room and told her to sit, "Do you know anything about like makeup and stuff?" Cassie shook her head and Kitty shrugged, "It's not that hard, here." She handed her a small tube of something flesh covered. "This is concealer, use it under your eyes or anywhere you have like zits and stuff. I'll braid your hair while you do that."

Cassie looked into the mirror in front of her, Kitty moving to stand behind her as she began sectioning off Cassie's shoulder length hair. Cassie opened the tube and used the wand that was revealed to place the product in the places Kitty had told her to: under her eyes and on the blemishes on her forehead and chin. She blended the product out a bit using her finger, and soon her reflection looked much more awake as well as completely free of the pimples that were there not ten seconds ago. The only way she could really tell that there was anything on her face was that, because Kitty was a little bit paler than Cassie, where she had placed the concealer it was a little lighter than the rest of her face. She glanced into the reflection and by this point Kitty had begun the braid on the right side of her head. "What next Kitty?"

Kitty nodded towards the product littered counter, "That pink tube is mascara, just put it on your eyelashes." She spoke as she put the hair tie on the first side braid and moved onto the second one.

Cassie continued to follow Kitty's instructions until she looked a lot less tired and a lot more put together. In addition to the makeup, she now had braids framing her face, resting on her shoulders. She looked…

Normal.

Cassie smiled, "Thank you for helping me get ready Kitty, I feel a lot better about my first day now. Thank you." She stood up to give Kitty a hug, which Kitty reciprocated in full. Cassie left to finish getting ready in her own room. Kitty had already helped her pick out an outfit from her minimal wardrobe, so she didn't have to worry about what to wear. She and Kitty had decided on a pair of jeans and a tight blue tank top, paired with an open front grey sweater that would reach to about Cassie's knees when worn. It was strange to Cassie that all of a sudden the biggest thing she had to worry about was clothes, when just a month ago she couldn't find a safe place to sleep. Her life seemed to be turning around, and she had a feeling that if she stuck around at this school that one day she wouldn't have to worry about anything bigger than the right outfit again.

* * *

Cassie kept her head down as she walked into her first class. Her stress levels had been steadily rising since the moment she entered the school, but at this point it gave way to her instinct to keep low and to keep quite. She didn't know anyone in this class, and she assumed that she wouldn't have many (if any) classes with her housemates. She got the feeling that most of them weren't the "remedial classes" type. She quickly made her way to the back of the class and to the seat in the farthest corner, taking a seat as soon as she made it to the desk. She sat her backpack down next to her and pulled her blank note book out from it to sit it on her desk. Suddenly her face contorted into a look of slight disgust as a familiar, but not welcome, scent filled the air of the classroom: cigarettes. She lifted her eyes to the entrance of the room just in time to see a bright orange haired boy enter. It took her a moment to recognize the boy, but when she did, every muscle in her body clenched at once. It was the guy from the mall, the one hanging out with the people Alex called The Brotherhood. He looked dead inside as he walked to the back of the class and Cassie said a quite prayer, _"Please don't sit here, please. Please."_

Her prayers were not answered as her sat in the seat directly to her left.

 _"Crap."_

Cassie continued to observe the older boy to her left, taking advantage of the fact that he was distracted by his phone. He was slender, but not quite in the same way that Lance had been. He seemed to be emitting quite a bit of energy despite his quite outward appearance. He was dressed simply; just a red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, but still looked about as put together as anyone else around them.

"Can I help you?" The sound of someone speaking to her tore her gaze away from examining the boy and she looked to the boy's face.

"What?" Cassie said with a tone of confusion in her voice.

He stared back with striking blue eyes that didn't quite match the rest of his body which seemed to scream fire. He arched one brow, "You were starin'." He spoke with a thick Australian accent.

Cassie pressed her lips into a thin line, "Sorry. I'm new." Her nerves were back. She hadn't planned on interacting with anyone in this class; much less someone Alex had told her explicitly was no good.

Then again, what did Alex know anyway?

He scoffed, "Yeah. I figured that out myself." He sat his phone down onto the desk and leaned back into his chair a little, running his hand through the fiery mop of hair on his head, "Welcome to Bayville High."

He smirked as he spoke and it made Cassie uncomfortable; more so than she already was with the situation. Cassie gave a curt nod, "Thanks." As she spoke, the sound of an electronic bell rang out across the school, signaling the beginning of class.

"Saved by the bell…" Cassie muttered under her breath as she turned her attention to the front of the classroom.

Unfortunately the bell did not save her for long.

The teacher assigned group work almost as soon as class had started, and due to their close seating arrangement, this landed Cassie and the boy as partners.

Cassie waited for the boy to finish sliding his chair and desk up against hers, fiddling with her pencil as she did so. As she was staring blankly at her desk, a hand entered her vision. Her face riddled with confusion, she looked up to the boy now sitting very close to her. She raised an eyebrow and he returned her look with a warm smile, "I'm John."

She shook his extended hand after a moment's hesitation, not sold by his sudden change in personality. His eyes still had that suspicious glint in them, as well as a spark of something that Cassie couldn't place. She retracted her hand slowly, "Cassie."

John shrugged and slid a blank sheet of paper in between the two of them after writing his name in the top right corner. John Allerdyce. John flipped a pen through his fingers, "Get used to stuff like this. We're in the dumbo class, so most of the work we get matches that sentiment."

Cassie raised an eyebrow as she wrote her name under his on the paper, "Does that bother you?"

John mirrored her expression, "Does it bother _you_?" He didn't wait for her to answer, but instead opened the text book that sat on his desk, "So where do you want to start…"

* * *

Cassie's classes were much as John had warned her they would be: boring and centered on the idea that the students were idiots. By the time the bell for lunch had rung, Cassie was ready to go home. School was exhausting, with the amount of people in addition to the mundane activities she had been assigned all day. Cassie rushed to the cafeteria, eager to eat. After she stood in line for her meal, she scanned the cafeteria for anyone she knew to sit with. She saw Kitty and a few others from the house sitting at a table towards the middle of the cafeteria, but it seemed pretty full. Feeling slightly put out, Cassie walked towards an empty table in the back for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. She ate her lunch in silence, sat far away from the majority of the student body. She felt the weight of the table shift and she looked up to see Lance sitting in front of her. She frowned slightly. He smirked, "Hey! Cathy, right?"

"Cassie." She spoke bluntly, frown still glued onto her face.

He leaned forward, resting his weight on his elbows, "I assume this was your first day of class? How do like good ole Bayville High?"

Cassie swallowed a bite of her sandwich, "Fine. What do you want, Lance?"

Lance grinned, "Hey, you remember my name. I'm touched. I don't want anything, really. Just to say hey."

Cassie rolled her eyes slightly, "Somehow I don't believe you."

Lance raised an eyebrow, leaning forward a little bit, "Why's that, Cassie?"

"You look like you like to cause trouble."

Lance spoke with a wide smile, "What's life for if not to cause a little trouble?"

Cassie paused for a moment before responding to ponder this question. She frowned slightly, "I never said I didn't like to cause trouble." She raised an eyebrow and spoke again before Lance had the opportunity to, "However, I don't think the kind of trouble you're into is worth the risk. Now if you'll excuse me, it seems I've lost my appetite."

Cassie stood and made her way to the large trash can located in the corner of the large cafeteria, disposing of what was left of her lunch by dumping it into the receptacle. She turned around on her heels only to let out a slight yelp. Somehow Alex had managed to sneak up behind Cassie, so there he stood; bright smile growing on his face, "Cass! Kitty and I were looking for you at lunch, we wanted you to sit with us. It being your first day and all."

Cassie shrugged, "I saw how crowded your table was and figured I would just… y'know."

Alex donned a look of genuine confusion, brows furrowed and lips turned down, "No? What?"

A tint of red rose to Cassie's cheeks as she attempted to explain herself without sounding like she didn't appreciate the two friends she had made in the last few weeks, "I guess… leave you alone? I dunno, you all just seemed preoccupied and I didn't want to impose."

Alex placed a hand on Cassie's shoulder, bright smile lighting up his tan face once more, "You're more than welcome to impose on me at any time. Tomorrow I'll sit with you, where ever you want. Even if it's next to the garbage can." He chuckled at that last remark, causing Cassie to do the same.

She pushed some hair behind her ear, "Thanks Alex. You and Kitty have been a life saver these last few weeks. I really appreciate it."

Alex shot Cassie one more of those bright smiles, and Cassie returned it whole heartedly.

* * *

Yet again Cassie cursed the school system for putting her in remedial classes, or "dumbo classes" as John called them. For the third time that day her seating partner was none other than John Allerdyce. She let out an audible groan as he plopped down in the seat next to her at the table. John grinned wide as he heard her sound of disagreement, "Aw, Sheila, I'm shocked. Are you already bored of me?"

Cassie looked at him, inspecting him closely. All day he had this air about him that not only rivaled the attitude present at the mall the other day, but it was practically the opposite of it. Something about this sudden change in behavior was striking Cassie as being strange though. While his actions and tone of voice had all done a 180, his eyes remained the same as that day. Suspicious. Guarded.

Calculating.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "Very much so, John."

John leaned back into his chair, tapping his fingers ferociously on the table they were sharing, "Y' don't have to call me John, y'know."

Cassie scoffed, having had her fill of the orange haired Aussie for the day, "And what else could I call you, pray tell?"

John leant in closer to Cassie and spoke in a much softer tone, a mysterious glint in his eye, "Wouldn't you like to know…"

Cassie leant in as well, speaking in an equally soft tone, "Not nearly as much as I think you want me to." She smiled tightly and relaxed back into her chair, slightly savoring his reaction as she saw him pout slightly out of the corner of her eye.

"Y' ain't any fun, Sheila" John said as the bell rang to signal the start of class.

"Cry me a river."

Yet again as the class began, the teacher assigned group work and that left Cassie with no choice but to talk to the increasingly annoying Australian boy seated next to her. Cassie groaned exasperatedly, "If I believed in a god, I would think he hated me."

John swung a heavy arm around her shoulder, "C'mon, Cassie, I can't be that bad." He gestured to the people occupying the classroom, "Besides, would you rather have one of these bozos as a partner?"

Most of the other students in the classroom looked like they would rather be literally anywhere else. Three of them seemed to be asleep at their desk, one was pretending two beakers were boobs, and another yet was trying to balance a pen on her nose.

He had a fair point.

Cassie forced a smile as she removed his arm from her shoulder, "You make a good argument. Fine. I will deal with you, but only because you're the lesser of all else evils."

As John heard that phrase, his blue eyes lit up like a flame, and a smirk that both intimidated and intrigued Cassie grew on his face, "Oh trust me luv," He leant in for the second time that day, much closer than he had before, to the point where his nose slightly brushed against hers, "I'm not the lesser of anything."

Cassie swallowed, feeling her cheeks redden against her will. She wasn't afraid, so she didn't know why her body was reacting like this. If anything Cassie was more interested in the foreigner than she had ever been.

Maybe that's what Alex meant by bad news, though Cassie had a feeling it was a little too late to start paying heed to that warning in particular. As she took a deep breath in through her nose, a familiar and foul stench filled her nose. She cringed physically and her body recoiled, putting some much needed distance between her and the fiery red head sitting next to her. John raised an eyebrow, "What ruffled your feathers?" He asked, with a rather annoyed tone to his voice.

Cassie lifted her lip in distain, "Cigarette smoke. You smell like the business end of an exhaust pipe, John. It makes me sick, so can you keep your distance please?"

John smirked mischievously as he scooted his chair closer to the disgusted Cassie, "What, y' don't like it? Here I was, thinking they made me smell like roses."

Cassie gave him a look lacking in amusement as she deadpanned, "Anyone ever tell you that you're kind of a jerk, John?"

John winked at her before responding, "Everyday luv."

* * *

 **This is another pretty basic chapter, just simple plot progression, but I hope you enjoyed it! I think in the next chapter we'll see a little more action in terms of the X-men as a group, but it's been really important to me that we get to know Cassie a lot better before thrusting her into the arms of chaos and confusion, for both the reader and the character's sake.**

 **Feel free to leave a comment if you enjoyed, or if you have any questions! I love getting feedback, it's a phenomenal motivator.**

 **I'll see you all in the next chapter, and thanks again for reading,**

 **-Catmandu22**


	6. Nightmares

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the owner of X-Men Evolution, X-Men characters shown, or Marvel Comics.

 **I don't have a lot to preface this chapter, other than a slight warning:**

 **Mention and description of a few mental disorders is present in this chapter.**

 **AUTHORS NOTE: As of 11/11/17 this chapter has been edited and updated**

* * *

 _"Where are you going, young lady?"_

 _Cassie's head spun quickly to glance over her shoulder, fear coursing through her veins and causing her muscles to tighten. She tried to respond, but her throat was dry. So, instead, she ran. She ran as fast and as hard as she could, but the figure behind stayed the same distance away. The looming figure of what looked as though it was once a man never wavered in his pursuit of Cassie, never falling even slightly farther back. No amount of running or sprinting seemed to put any distance between Cassie and the monstrosity chasing her._

 _"It's impolite to not speak when spoken to, my dear." The man spoke, and with each word he grew closer and closer to Cassie. Cassie looked back at him once more, but as she did she tripped and the ground fell out from beneath her._

 _Now she was falling, falling for what seemed like eternity. Darkness grew around her, filling the void and making it harder to see anything._

 _She screamed. Nothing came out, but she screamed._

Cassie woke up in a cold sweat, having felt like her body just dropped from the sky into her bed. She threw her blankets off of the bed, breathing heavily. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tightly. She stared blankly into the space in front of her, trying to steady her breathing and trying to bring herself back to reality. Once she began breathing at a more normal pace, she relaxed her legs and looked at the clock on her night stand. 10:00pm. She had only been asleep for two hours.

She took a shaky breath and stood. She walked over to the mirror in the corner of the room, looking at herself, "It wasn't real. It wasn't real. I'm okay. I'm okay." She ran her hands through her hair, pulling it all to the top of her head and just staring at herself for a minute. She took a deep breath out and let her hair fall down to her shoulders. "I just need to distract myself."

As if on cue, Kitty phased into the room, a look of urgency on her face, "Cassie! Glad you're awake!"

Cassie quickly tried to compose herself, "Yeah, what's wrong? Why do you look freaked?"

Kitty ran over to her quickly and grabbed her hand, "We need to go. Professor wants you for a mission."

Cassie let Kitty pull her through the wall, which was a feeling she was never going to get used to, as she tried to wrap her head around the situation, "What do you mean? I've only been in the danger room like twice."

Kitty nodded as they ran through the hall, "Yeah, but the professor thinks you'd be helpful here." Kitty phased through another wall into the room where they kept the spare uniforms, "Here, get dressed."

Cassie did as she was told, still thoroughly confused. She donned the traditional yellow and black spandex that all new recruits wore, including a small mask that covered the upper half of her face. As she was pulling her hair into a tight ponytail at the top of her head she spoke to Kitty, "What made the professor think I would be useful?"

Kitty looked at her seriously, "Someone set fire to the docks."

Kitty said this as though it should have answered her question, but it only left her with more. Cassie was not the only person in the mansion who could help with fire, but she was by far the least experienced.

Why was she going?

* * *

Cassie had never been in a jet, so she was very much so unprepared for the speed of the X-Jet. Even though she was buckled in, she felt as though she was about to be flung into the air. It was an exhilarating feeling, but she wasn't quite sure she liked it. Kitty placed a hand on her shoulder, "You okay?"

Cassie nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine. This thing is fast." Kitty giggled in response, and Cassie relaxed slightly. Cassie scanned her eyes over the room, seeing who all else was on this mission with her. Alex's older brother Scott was there, as well as the red headed telepath, and the blue teleporter. Cassie sucked her bottom lip into her mouth. These people were in a class far above Cassie. They didn't even train together. Why did the professor bring her along? What could she possibly have to offer that they couldn't find elsewhere?

As Cassie was observing the passengers on the plane, she saw Scott glance in her direction. He looked thoroughly confused and he leaned in close to the red head next to him, whispering something to her while still keeping his eyes trained on Cassie. The red head turned her attention to Cassie as well, and she responded to Scott in a whisper with a shrug.

With two sets of eyes boring into her, Cassie was growing increasingly uncomfortable. She trained her eyes on the floorboard at her feet and chose to lose herself in her thoughts.

Cassie's thoughts were interrupted when Scott began to speak, "Okay team, this is the plan. Jean, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and I will spread out and search for the guys who started the fire. Riptide, you put out the flames before they destroy more than they already have. Understand?"

Riptide. Kitty had suggested that as her codename, and Cassie liked it at the time, but hearing it now it didn't feel quite right. Nonetheless Cassie nodded at her orders, still questioning why she was here. With a deep breath she shook off her confusion, and prepared to land.

* * *

 _"Bobby could have done this easily. Maybe a little bit more messy, sure, but easily nonetheless._

 _Storm definitely could have handled this easily. Just a little wave of her hand and this fire would be gone in two seconds._

 _So why am I here_ ," she wondered as she waved her arms to flood the flaming buildings with water from the sea surrounding it. Sure this was easy for Cassie, but it's a strange first mission to be on. Cassie began to get lost in her thoughts again, " _Why would the professor say that I would be particularly useful in this particular situation?"_

Suddenly Cassie had more important things to think about when a ball of fire stuck the ground in front of her. Immediately she jumped to the side and spun around to face the direction in which the fire ball came from. Her eyes focused on a man clad in orange with what looked like tanks of gasoline strapped onto his back, standing above her on a stack of crates. Cassie shrunk into a defensive position, waiting for something to happen.

The man spoke with a laughing tone in his voice, "Why are you puttin' out my fires, Sheila?" He turned his palms upward and two small flames appeared above them, "It's not very nice."

Cassie gripped her hands into fists, causing the water around her to hover on either side of her, not replying. She was sensing a familiar sense of danger radiating off of this man. She narrowed her eyes and tightened her muscles.

The man jumped down to land in front of Cassie, standing taller than her by quite a bit, "Not a talker eh? That's alright. You'll burn the same anyway."

Cassie slammed her hands together, creating a blockade of water that intercepted the blast of fire that he shot at her. Separating her hands she created an opening in her wall of water to view the man who seemed pretty determined to roast her alive. The fading flames lit up his face for a moment, stopping Cassie in her tracks.

John.

John stood in front of her, a disturbing smirk sat on his face as he stared down at her, "Ooh you're a fast one. This oughta be fun." He shot another fireball at her, Cassie dodging it by tumbling backwards. She jumped onto her feet, scooping her hands forward to shoot water into John's face. John shook his head and laughed loudly, "Whoo!" He made eye contact with Cassie for a moment, shocking Cassie with what she found. She expected to see what she always did in those bright blues, but this time she only saw insanity. Fiery insanity. John lifted his leg, that insanity sparking in his eyes, "C'mon, is that the best you've got?" He kicked Cassie hard in the ribs, sending her stumbling back with a great amount of pain.

Cassie gasped in pain and clenched her fists, solidifying some of the water into ice and slamming into John's chest. He stumbled backwards for one step, but shook it off quickly and proceeded to march towards her, seemingly unbothered by her attack. Cassie swallowed and swung a punch at John's face. Her fist collided with his jaw, finally halting his stride towards her completely and causing him to stumble to the side a few steps.

He grinned at her, flicking his wrist so that a ball of flames hovered above his palm. In one hard motion, Cassie thrusted her hands towards the ground, the water she had control over moving to encapsulate her and lift her into the sky. John's eyes followed her into the air as he aimed his handful of fire at her. Cassie moved with fluidity to deflect each of his attacks as her bubble of water set her gently atop a stack of crates. Cassie raised her hands above her head and brought them down swiftly, sending shards of newly formed ice cascading towards John. With the grace of an exhaust pipe, John turned his palms outward and a huge wall of fire destroyed Cassie's ice attacks. He pulled back a hand and formed a large fire ball, grinning up at Cassie, "This has been fun, but we'll have to cut this short, luv." He shot the fireball at the base of the stack of crates Cassie was stood upon. As the crates began to burn and fall apart, Cassie lost her balance. While she was busy trying not to fall off the side, John took the opportunity to shoot another fireball, this time aimed directly at Cassie.

It hit her squarely in the side, sending a searing pain through her body as her flesh burned. She fell to her knees, clutching her side. Cassie's breathing was quickening and her heart rate was picking up as she realized that she was in no way ready for this. Her vision was blurring and everything seemed to be spinning, and she had a giant burn courtesy of the crazy kid who just yesterday was her science partner. Cassie lost control of the situation, and now there was a strong possibility that she could die if she didn't get out of this quickly. The collapsing crates beneath her shook, reminding her that she needed to move. Shakily she stood and took off in a run to the edge of the crates, each step sending searing pain through her abdomen. She leaped from the edge, landing unsteadily on her feet a few meters away from the burning pile of crates. With a grimace on her face, Cassie raised the hand that wasn't on her side to summon more water from the sea. With a sloppy wave of her hand Cassie threw the water onto the burning crates, sinking to her knees shortly thereafter.

Cassie sat there for a minute just catching her breath and trying to get control of the pain creeping through her body.

"Riptide!"

Cassie turned her head to face Kitty who had just entered the area, "I think I may need some help up."

Kitty ran over to Cassie, crouching to inspect her burn, "Oh my god, this is really bad. You're really hurt. What happened?"

Kitty helped Cassie to her feet, allowing her to lean on her for support. Cassie spoke breathily, "Some guy who could control fire found me while I was putting out the fires. I fought him off for a while, but eventually he hit me. He got away, I'm sorry."

Kitty shook her head, "It's, like, fine. Let's get you back to the mansion."

* * *

The professor was known for keeping cool under pressure, and maintaining a calm demeanor. However, when he caught word that his newest student had been significantly injured on a mission, it became rather difficult to keep up that calm demeanor. There was a knock on the door and he spook loudly, "Come in Kitty."

Kitty entered, seemingly unbothered by her summons. She made her way over to the professor's desk and sat down in one of the chairs in front of it, "You wanted to see me Professor Xavier?" A pleasant smile sat on her lips and she let her hands rest in her lap.

He intertwined his fingers, resting his elbows on the arm rests of his wheel chair, "What drove you to bring Cassie onto this mission without my permission?" He asked flatly, observing her reaction intently.

Kitty's eyebrows shot up and confusion washed over her face, "What?" She sat forward abruptly, her hands latching onto the arm rest of the chair.

Xavier leaned forward a bit to emphasize his next words, "You brought an untrained student onto a mission without authorization, and now she is currently in the infirmary to be treated for the wounds she received because of that decision. So I'd like to know what made you decide to do that."

Kitty shook her head, as though attempting to clear out the thoughts in her head. Her eyes were wide and a permanent look of confusion was glued on her face, "But professor, you _told_ me to take her."

Xavier raised a singular brow as he spoke, "What do you mean Kitty?"

Kitty let her eyes wander anxiously as she explained herself, using her hands to emphasize her point, "I was getting ready to grab Bobby like you said when your voice spoke in my head, clear as a bell. You said you wanted to bring Cassie on the mission instead." Her face contorted as her mouth scrunched up and her eyebrows furrowed, "I was confused but I did it anyway, because I figured you knew more than I did."

The professor was silent for a moment, taking in what Kitty had just told him. After what seemed like forever, he spoke again, "I can assure you Kitty, that I said no such thing. However, I believe you. This calls for an investigation. Thank you for coming, you may go."

As a stress ridden Kitty left the room, Xavier leaned back into his wheelchair, pondering the new information he had received. If someone was communicating with his students under the guise of being him, it could very easily turn into a very dangerous situation.

He needed to figure out what was happening, and figure it out quickly.

* * *

"Third degree burn," Cassie said as she sat across from Kitty and Alex in the kitchen, "McCoy says it's going to take a while to heal. He says I'm lucky it didn't cause permanent damage."

Betsy piped in from next to Cassie, "Is it going to scar?"

Cassie nodded, a slight frown on her face, "He says there's a good chance it will, which kind of sucks."

Alex frowned, "How bad does it look?"

Cassie lifted her shirt in response to reveal the large bandage that covered her left side from the top of her ribcage to the start of her hip bone. It extended to reach her spine on her back and almost to meet her belly button on the front, "It's pretty big. It still hurts really badly." Cassie dropped her shirt and leaned on the counter, "I just wasn't ready for that guy."

"Pyro," Kitty said, "His name is Pyro. A few years ago he worked with Magneto, but when his little group got disbanded he disappeared. I guess he's back."

Cassie bit her lower lip, "Do we not know who he is?"

Kitty shrugged, "We didn't have to deal with him too much, so we never really got a good look at his face. Not really sure who he is."

Cassie nodded, standing up from the table. "I think I'm gonna go lay down. I'm really tired."

Kitty smiled softly, "Okay, like, tell me if you need anything. I'm right down the hall."

Cassie nodded and said goodbye, heading back to her room. She was confused. She was sure that Pyro was John, but if that were the case how had no one else figured it out? Maybe she had been mistaken. In any case, Cassie was exhausted and she was in desperate need of sleep.

* * *

 _Cassie was strapped to a chair, IV drips attached to her arms. She was being kept steadily drugged; so drugged that she could barely keep her eyes open. A door opened to her left and her head rolled sluggishly in the direction of the door. It was the same person it always was. The only person she ever saw. The person who only ever came in to inject her with liquid pain and to watch her scream. To stand in the corner writing notes while Cassie cried for help, as tears streamed down her cheeks into the dirtied rags she wore as clothes. At one point Cassie feared them, but now she only hated them. She hated them with a passion rivaled by no other emotion she possessed._

 _Cassie had no clue how long she had been strapped to this chair, trapped in this room. It felt like minutes, but the minutes felt like hours, and the hours felt like days. Her body was numb, she hadn't moved since she had been placed here. She had long since run out of things to think about in her drug induced stupor. She couldn't remember who she was, why she was here, or where she was._

 _The person whom she hated more than anything else stepped up next to her, a syringe ready and filled with the fluid form of torture. Cassie struggled to raise her eyes upwards, "Please…" she croaked, "Don't…"_

 _She begged every time for them to stop. Every time she begged for mercy._

 _Every time they ignored her._

 _Every time she screamed._

* * *

Cassie woke up to the sound of screaming, and it took her a moment to figure out that she was the source of the shrill sound. She took a deep breath, silencing the scream that had no doubt rung out through the hall. Sweat was dripping off her forehead as she glanced around the room frantically, trying to remind herself where she was. The mansion. Her room in the mansion. A room filled with furniture and windows and not a needle in sight. She was fine. Everything was fine.

Suddenly there was a banging on her door and Cassie's head snapped to face it. She stood and tried to look more composed as she made her way to the door. Upon opening it she was met with the worried expressions of quite a few of her house mates. Kitty, Jubilee, Jaime, and…

Gambit.

Cassie froze in place, all hopes of regaining composure lost. Cassie swallowed, gluing her eyes to the floor and trying to keep her breathing under control, "Sorry about that."

Kitty looked at her with worry filled eyes, "We heard you scream—"

"The whole mansion heard you." Jaimie intercepted, earning him a slap on the shoulder from Jubilee.

Kitty continued, "And we got worried. What happened? Are you okay?"

Cassie nodded, eyes still trained on the floor, "Yeah. I was having a, um, a bad dream and I fell off my bed and hit my side. It hurt really bad, but I think I'll be okay." She gave a tight smile, "Thanks anyway."

Gambit raised a brow and ran a hand through his disheveled hair, "Are you sure you don't need us to take you to McCoy, cher? I can walk—"

"No, I want to go back to bed. Goodnight."

Cassie shut the door abruptly, ending the conversation as quick as she could. She pressed her ear to the door, listening closely. She heard mutterings and the faint sound of footsteps receding. Cassie fell to her knees, finally allowing her body to go into the panic it had been trying to go into for the last five minutes. Her heart was pounding, her breathing was ragged, and her hands were shaking. She closed her eyes shut tightly, trying to think of ways to ground herself. Her hands found their way to her hair, which she gripped tightly in her fists, "It wasn't real. It wasn't real. I'm okay. I am okay."

An image flashed in her brain: _A young Cassie reaching out to grab a younger boy, each being pulled different directions by two men. Cassie was screaming, the boy was crying. She reached for him as far as she could but she couldn't reach him. The boy disappeared._

Cassie's fingers gripped at her hair tighter, her body sinking lower into her sunken position, "No, no, no, no…" She shook her head violently, "It wasn't real. That's not real. I'm okay. I'm going to be okay." Her heart was beating so strongly she feared it would burst out of her chest. She had to remind herself how to breathe as her body was no longer doing it automatically. Her breaths were coming short and shallow, and her body was aching from how tightly her muscles were being clenched. She opened her eyes to try to calm herself and was met with two feet stood in front of her. Her eyes followed the legs up to a torso and eventually a face. Gambit stood in front of her, bo staff in hand and a blank look on his face as he stared down at her. He spoke, "C'mon cher, don't make this harder on y'self."

Cassie clasped a hand over her mouth to silence a scream and pushed herself back with her legs. She proceeded to crawl as quickly as she could to the bed, using it to steady herself as she stood. She quickly turned around to face the door again, prepared to face Gambit once again, but he wasn't there. It was as if he had never been there.

Cassie noticed she had begun to cry. She rubbed her palms aggressively on her face, angry at the way her body reacted to the situation. She clenched her fist, "I'm not afraid of you."

 _"Liar"_ A small voice in the back of her head said to her, _"Liar."_

Cassie shook her head violently, trying to clear her thoughts, "It wasn't real. I'm okay. It was not real. I am okay."

Cassie's breathing settled, and her heart stopped beating so ferociously. Her muscles relaxed and she uncurled her fingers from the fists they had been in. She raised her hands to look at her palms and when she did she saw four small, crescent shaped puncture wounds in the palms of her hands. Cassie sighed, silently reminding herself to trim her nails sometime soon if she didn't want that to happen again. She took a seat on the edge of her bed, the motion reminding her of the giant burn on her side. She touched it delicately with the tips of her fingers, amazed that she had forgotten about it during her panic attack. Now that she remembered it was there, it felt as though it would be impossible to ignore. The pain was intense and every time she shifted her torso it shot through her body, yet somehow she didn't feel any of that. The pain somehow brought her some strange sense of calm. This pain was real, and it was something else to focus on. Something else to worry about.

Something else to feel.

* * *

Cassie thanked Alex for walking her to her classroom before he left and she entered the bubbling cesspool of teenage idiocy. Cassie woke up that morning to the pain in her side demanding attention, and it really hadn't stopped demanding attention since then. Due to the constant reminder of her burnt skin that sat on her hip, Cassie cared very little for how she looked that day. Her hair was in a messy, but effective, bun on the top of her head, and she wore a simple pair of jeans and a gray hoodie. She made her way past a drooling teenage boy with his head on a desk, and past a girl seemingly trying to see how many sticks of gum she could fit into her mouth, until she made it to the back corner where her desk sat.

Unfortunately, her neighbor was already sitting in his seat.

John smiled slightly at Cassie, crossing his arms on the table and leaning against them, "How was your break from this prison, Cass?"

She answered his question with silence, quickly taking her seat and getting set up for class. This prompted John to ask a different question, "Ah, are we in a bit of a bad mood today?" He said this with a small grin on his face, which quickly faded as he was completely ignored once again.

He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, which Cassie interrupted by speaking sharply, "Do not touch me."

John's hand paused midair and he slowly retracted it back to his desk. He stared at her, slightly confused, but more so intrigued by her sudden change in behavior. He shrugged, "You're still gonna have ta be my partner, Cassie girl. No matter how mad you are at me."

Cassie took a deep breath and opened her notebook, still refusing to look at him, "That may be true, John, but that doesn't mean I have to be your friend." She turned her head to look at him, "I'm not your friend, John." She turned her head back to her book, "I don't want to be your friend."

John shrugged, still confused by her behavior, but it was rather amusing. In reality, he didn't want to be her friend either. She was just entertaining. Entertaining enough to continue to pursue conversing with her. Who knows, maybe she'd snap on him again.

Cassie listened while the teacher assigned more group work, she waited while John scooted his desk closer to hers, and she said nothing to him when he poked fun at her messy hair. She was determined to cut off as much contact with him as possible. She was positive that John was that Pyro character that Kitty had been talking about, and if that were the case then she would do well to stay far away from him.

She took a deep breath and grimaced, the unwelcome scent that John carried with him filling her lungs. Cigarette smoke, that godawful smell that seemed to follow John wherever he went. She leaned away from him, "You smell bad."

John chuckled, "You're one to talk. When was the last time you showered?"

Cassie gave him a look of disdain, "I meant you smell like cigarette smoke."

John pulled a look of false shock, "What? Why didn't someone tell me?! Maybe it's because I…" He acted like he was checking around the room for someone to be listening in on them and then leaned in close to Cassie, "Smoke." He mouthed the word 'boom' and mimicked an explosion coming from his head with his hands.

Cassie rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the classwork in front of her, tapping her pencil on the desk for a minute. Finally she turned to face him again, biting her lip, "Why, um… why _do_ you smoke?"

John raised an eyebrow at her question, shrugging, "I dunno, I never really thought about it. I picked it up from a friend back in Oz, and I've just kept it up ever since."

Cassie nodded softly, "I guess that makes sense." She swallowed before speaking again, "Have you ever thought about quitting?"

John laughed heartily before digging around in his pocket for something. After fishing out what he was looking for, he grinned at Cassie, "I'll tell you what. I'll think about quitting if you…" He firmly sat down a pack of cigarettes on her desk, "think about trying one."

Cassie looked at him in disgust, "Why would I do that? They're addictive, John."

John raised his eyebrow again, shoving the pack back into his pocket, "Exactly." He gestured to the papers in front of them, "Can we get back to work now?"

* * *

"You're healing a lot quicker than anticipated, Ms. Reeds." Hank McCoy said with a warm smile as he stripped his hands of his gloves, "Which is good, but surprising."

Cassie nodded, contorting her body to look at her disfigurement, "Do you still think it'll scar?"

Dr. McCoy took a seat on the tabletop across from the cot that Cassie was sat upon, "Most likely. The wound was very deep. I'd be very surprised if you came out of this without a rather large scar. I'm sorry, my dear."

Cassie shrugged, a little put out, "It's not the first scar I've ever gotten, and it probably won't be the last. I was just hoping…"

Dr. McCoy hopped off the tabletop to grab some extra bandages and a small bag from the counter, "These are for you to change your bandages with. Remember to change them before you go to bed."

Cassie took the items with a small smile, but remained sitting on her cot. Dr. McCoy turned away from her to write something down in her file. Cassie cleared her throat, "Um… Dr. McCoy, can I ask you something?"

Dr. McCoy turned around to face her, leaning against the counter, "Of course, Ms. Reeds. What is it?"

"Do you know anything about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?" Cassie asked, not looking Dr. McCoy in the eyes, "I was reading about it in one of my classes and it was just really confusing, so I was hoping you could, I dunno… dumb it down for me?"

Dr. McCoy mused over her question for a moment before responding, "Well, I'm more of a chemist than I am a psychologist, but my understanding of the condition is that it's a mental condition developed after or during periods of intense mental or physical trauma. It's pretty situational in how it affects those who have it, but common symptoms are flash backs, night terrors, and the most common one is anxiety. Sometimes victims can develop 'triggers', which are things that remind them of the initial event and they can be anything really: smells, sounds, objects, even people." Dr. McCoy explained, motioning with his hands every so often.

Cassie nodded, taking in the information, "So is PTSD ever caused by more than one event? Like, can someone develop it over the course of a few years or something?"

"Of course. Most victims of kidnapping or prolonged domestic abuse develop PTSD. There are actually a lot of ways to develop PTSD, but very common ways are acts of extreme violence like being part of a robbery, or prolonged and constant acts of abuse, or—"

"Torture?" Cassie interrupted.

Dr. McCoy nodded, "Yes, exactly."

Cassie chewed on her bottom lip as she spoke, "Are there any cures?"

Dr. McCoy frowned slightly, "From what I know, not exactly. Sometimes medicine can help, but a lot of the times it can't. Many victims of PTSD cope with it in very dangerous ways in efforts to keep their mind off of it. Sometimes that works, but more often than not many victims just have to… find ways to keep it suppressed. Many never fully cope with it." Dr. McCoy cleared his throat and smiled warmly to dispel the negativity in the air, "Do you understand a little bit more now?"

Cassie nodded slowly, "Yes, I think so. Thank you, Dr. McCoy."

Cassie slid off the cot and waved goodbye to the doctor. She made her way back into the main part of the mansion; pondering everything she had just been told. What he told her about the symptoms was everything she expected to hear, but she was very put out to hear that there wasn't a definitive cure. Cassie didn't care about 'fixing it' or anything like that.

She just wanted to be able to sleep.

* * *

 **This chapter was pretty serious, and it's probably going to set the tone for the next few chapters. I'm trying to bring in some comedy elements, but I don't want it to feel forced, I really want everything that happens to feel as real or natural as possible.**

 **Also I'm very sorry for not updating in a while, things got busy and I lost track of time.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading and leave a comment if you feel like it!**

 **-Catmandu22**


	7. Normalcy

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the owner of X-Men Evolution, X-Men characters shown, or Marvel Comics.

 **I've gone back to the previous chapters and done some editing. I'm trying to update this as I write it, so I don't allot myself much time for editing once I've finished a chapter. So I've decided that instead of trying to pump out chapters at a quick pace, I'm going to try to take my time and make sure I'm happy with the final product of each chapter. That being said, I wasn't too happy with the first few so I did some editing. Most of it isn't too important, but I would implore you to read chapter 5 again seeing as I added something to aid the plot. Thanks again for reading!**

 **Content Warning: Illegal Abuse of Legal Substance**

* * *

At certain times in our lives, situations arise that will undoubtedly shape us into the people we are to become. Sometimes people are able to handle these situations in the way they think would be the safest but, just as often, people cannot handle the potential ramifications that their choices would entail. So, while some people work through these periods of time to come out a better and more well-balanced person, sometimes people begin to spiral out of control. It is with these people who try to run from choices that often run directly into more important and far more difficult choices to make.

Cassie was a runner. She had run away from everything in her life, mostly out of self-preservation, but when you run for that long you forget how to do anything else. Every place you go, every person you meet, everything you work towards, it all becomes temporary. Once things seem like they may become permanent, it triggers a fight or flight response and you are presented with a choice to make: you could stay and try to actually find a home with friends and build a life that actually means something, or you could run. More often than not, you end up running. Cassie had no goal in life but to survive and when she was alone it was easier to focus on that goal, but harder to accomplish. Now that she was with a group, she had found survival an easier task to accomplish, but it was becoming increasingly hard to focus on. These people wanted her to make more goals: learn how to control her abilities, succeed in school, make friends, and create a future. That all sounded well and good in hindsight, but in reality Cassie didn't care about any of that.

Cassie just wanted to live, and the only way she knew how to live was to run.

Burying her troubles deep within her, Cassie threw a fist at the punching bag, followed by the same action from her other hand. She had been attacking the same bag for about twenty minutes. Each punch sent pain through her abdomen, due to the fact that her large burn had yet to heal completely. She wouldn't admit it, but the pain was the reason she had gotten into working out in those last few days. She was not proud of it, but pain had become an effective distraction from her nightmares. It had become an easy thing to focus on, and it was a welcome break from the string of nightmares she had been experiencing.

"I think I'm legally required to tell you to take a break."

Cassie put out a hand to catch the swinging punching bag, looking at the person who spoke while trying to catch her breath, "Sorry?"

Sarah raised a sculpted brow, "You've been going at that thing for like twenty minutes. You look like you're about to pass out."

Cassie wiped away some sweat from her forehead, taking deep breaths, "Have I? I didn't notice."

Sarah nodded, looking at Cassie like what she had said was obvious, "Yeah, I figured. Anyway, like I said, I'm pretty sure that I'm required by law to at least suggest a break. I didn't want to go look it up, so I just came over to tell you."

Cassie gave her an amused smile, "Thanks for the concern. I can tell it's very genuine. I need to head back anyway." Cassie walked over to the cubbies to gather her things. Cassie then made her way to the front desk to sign out. She glanced up at Sarah as she did, "I'll see you later, Sarah."

Sarah rolled her eyes, "I'll be here, as always. At least with you around this place isn't filled with exclusively guys who look like the after photo in a p90X ad. Big shocker: those guys are mostly jerks."

Cassie grinned, "Aw, I knew you cared somewhere deep down in that heart of yours."

Sarah scoffed and crossed her arms, "Please. Don't flatter yourself."

Cassie chuckled as she left the gym. She had been there every day after school since her talk with Dr. McCoy. She had thrown herself into a few things in an effort to distract herself. One of which was the gym, and the other being her search for Jordan. She had managed to sneak out every night that week, yet she was only slightly closer to finding Jordan.

Cassie began her walk home. The gym wasn't far from the school by any means, but it also wasn't very close. It was a nice way to cool down from the work out, so she didn't mind the walk. She would use the time to think, which was nice because she didn't get a lot of peace at the mansion. It's kind of expected when you throw a bunch of teenagers in a house that you don't get a lot of quiet time to think. So the walk was nice; it gave Cassie alone time in a way that she couldn't find at home. She took a deep breath in through her nose, catching a whiff of the smells of the city.

It wasn't a great smell.

Cassie was torn away from the terrible smell by someone calling her name. She turned to look for whoever was calling for her and was somewhat pleased to see that it was Alex. She smiled, "Hey Alex!"

Alex jogged across the street to catch up to her, a smile on his face as well, "I didn't expect to see you out here. What's up?"

Cassie jutted a thumb over her shoulder towards the gym, "On my way home from the gym."

Alex shoved his hands into his pockets, "Is that where you've been disappearing off to lately? Kitty told me about your episode Sunday night, and I really haven't seen you since." Alex shot a glance at her from the corner of his eye, "It kinda felt like you were ignoring me."

Cassie shook her head, "No! No, I'm just… I'm trying to get out of my own head, y'know?" Cassie gave him a soft smile, "It has nothing to do with avoiding you. Promise."

Alex smiled when she spoke, thoroughly relieved that he hadn't done anything to upset her. "We should hang out soon. Go to the park, or the mall, or something."

Cassie nodded with excitement, "Yeah! I'd love to. I'm up for anything." She met his gaze with a smile.

Alex chuckled, "Awesome."

* * *

"What do you mean it's almost healed?" Cassie asked Dr. McCoy incredulously from her perch atop the medical cot. As aforementioned, the pain brought from her burn had become one of her only ways to cope with the terrible nightmares she had been plagued with as of late. While she was somewhat happy at the prospect of not having to deal with the hassle of changing her bandages every night, but the idea of having the nightmares returning with no way of dealing with them terrified her.

Dr. McCoy responded with surprise, "I mean precisely that. That burn was one of the worst I have ever seen. It should have taken months to recover completely from a burn that size. Yet when I just inspected it after just a week of healing, it's almost completely healed. I'd say you have about a week left, but with the rate that your body is regenerating the tissue, I'd estimate you have even less to wait."

Cassie's eyebrows furrowed in the center of her head, "Could it be the medicine that you've been giving me?"

Dr. McCoy shook his head, flipping through Cassie's file as he spoke, "No, my dear. We've only been giving you an antibacterial cream and some mild, over the counter pain medicine. Now, normally I'd attribute this to a latent mutant ability, but if that is the case, it works far slower than any of the other healing mutations I've come across. Logan's, for instance, heals him of most wounds in mere seconds, minutes at most. I've never seen one take a week to work."

Cassie had begun chewing on her bottom lip rather aggressively, "So what do you think is the cause?"

Dr. McCoy set down the paper work and made direct eye contact with Cassie, "I don't know. I'd like to take a sample of your blood to analyze it to figure that out, if you would let me."

Cassie paused, "You wouldn't use a needle, would you? I… I don't like needles."

Dr. McCoy tilted his head back and forth, pondering the question for a moment, "That would be the most effective way, yes. Unless you know of an easier method?"

Cassie shook her head, "No, I guess that's fine. It won't take much, right?"

Dr. McCoy shook his head, reassuring her that she had no need to worry, "Just a prick. I won't need much to analyze. At least, not right away."

Cassie nodded and Dr. McCoy gathered the tools. He shuffled over, his movements reminding Cassie that the man looked a lot more like an animal than he acted. He extended his hand, quietly asking for her palm. She extended a shaky hand and he took it gently. He smiled warmly at her, "It'll just be a prick, and then we'll be done with the needle, okay?"

Cassie nodded and she closed her eyes tightly, trying to steady her breathing. There was a sharp pain in her index finger, but it was gone just as quickly as it had arrived. Cassie kept her eyes closed tight; just to be sure that she didn't catch a glimpse of the needle.

"We're done, Ms. Reeds."

Cassie opened her eyes to see Dr. McCoy's large fingers wrapping a small band aid around her finger, "That was it?" Dr. McCoy nodded and began to walk away. Cassie rubbed the tip of her finger, "I guess I've had bad experiences with needles."

Cassie stood and said goodbye to the good doctor, taking her leave by exiting the room. She checked the watch that sat snugly on her wrist to see that it was just a few minutes before 5, which meant she had just a few minutes to get into her uniform and report to the Danger Room for training.

* * *

Cassie's forearms moved quickly to block her face, the water she had control of mimicking the motions as it quickly formed a liquid wall to deflect Amara's attack. There was a sizzle as Amara's blast of fire met with Cassie's blockade of water, and Cassie called out for help, "Iceman!"

Bobby came skating in on a path of ice to distract Amara from behind with an attack of his own. Cassie dropped her wall and turned her attention to Roberto De Costa, the other fiery student she and Bobby had been paired up against that day. Roberto shot a grin at Cassie, his current form making him look kind of demonic. He took off in Cassie's direction, flying through the air with his fist pulled back and ready. Cassie swung her hands in front of her, bringing the surrounding water to gather at her right. Once Roberto was in range, Cassie threw her hands up and sent all of her water flying towards him. This proved to be useless as the water simply evaporated off of his skin immediately upon contact. This meant that not only was Roberto still barreling towards Cassie, but she was also out of ammunition, so to speak. So when Roberto brought his fist down on Cassie, all she could do was dodge out of the way and run.

She thought about asking Bobby to shoot her some ice so she could melt it and use it, but before she could act on that idea she felt herself being propelled through the air by an explosion behind her. Roberto had struck the ground directly behind Cassie and the mixture of the heat radiating off of him in addition to the sheer momentum at which he landed had sent Cassie flying through the air. Cassie tumbled to the floor a few meters away, landing rather ungracefully as she skid to a halt on her back. She groaned for a moment with her eyes shut, and when she opened them she saw Roberto in his normal form standing above her. He crouched down next to her and poked her forehead with his index finger, grinning, "You're out."

It wasn't long before the sparring session was over, and Wolverine was standing in front of the four teens. Cassie kept her eyes focused on the Danger Room floor, knowing that her results were far from what had been expected of her.

"Ice Cube, you did better than last time, but you still need to be more aware of your surroundings. Amara shouldn't have been able to take you out like that. Amara and Roberto, nice job today. Only complaint is next time I expect more team work. You need to work together, not separately." Wolverine made eye contact with each person respectively as he spoke. Cassie's palms were getting clammy as he made his way down the line and closer to her. "Cassie, I need to talk to you in private. Everyone else is dismissed."

Cassie watched as her teammates left the Danger Room, avoiding looking at the shorter Canadian man standing in front of her. She cleared her throat, "I know I did really bad today—" Cassie began, but was interrupted by Wolverine's aggressive voice.

"It's training. You do your best, and you don't make up excuses if you fail. Which you did today," He said matter-of-factly, "but that's why we do this. So we can find areas that need improvement and work on them. What I noticed out there was that you rely on your mutation too much. You're sloppy."

Cassie pursed her lips in confusion, "What do you mean? I thought I was supposed to use my mutation."

Wolverine raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms, "Your mutation should act as an extent of your physicality. You can't just throw a bucket of water at someone and expect it to stop them. You can't just run away when you run out of water. You need to be able to use your mutation to its fullest extent, and also be able to fend for yourself when you can't use it." Cassie stared at the floor, feeling very much so like a child being scolded for a bad grade. She nodded, feeling more than a little put out about the situation. Wolverine spoke again, "I'm going to set up a training schedule for you to learn how to fight, without your powers. You're pretty much useless if you can't even throw a punch. I'll make sure you get the schedule once I'm done with it." He jutted his chin forward and took a tight breath in through his nose, "Go on, you're dismissed."

* * *

After Cassie's subpar performance Monday in the Danger Room, Cassie had been avoiding her house mates both out of embarrassment and out of habit. However, Cassie had made sure to keep her promise to Alex about hanging out with him, which is how she ended up skipping the gym that Thursday and had found herself at the beach with the sandy blonde. As they were laying out their towels onto the sand, Alex shot her a goofy grin and instantly Cassie felt horrible about neglecting him for the past week. She wasn't used to constant and consistent interaction with people quite yet. As Alex situated his towel situation, Cassie let her eyes wander the ocean in front of her. She took a deep breath, letting the cool and salty air fill her lungs happily. She stretched her arms out above her head, letting her body relax at the familiar surroundings. Cassie loved beaches. She loved the smell, the sand, the water, the sun, she loved all of it.

"Have you ever been surfing?" Alex asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She turned her attention back to the Summers' boy as she pondered his question momentarily, "No, actually. I don't think I ever really got the chance."

Alex gave her a lopsided smile as he took a few steps forward to stand next to her, "I'll have to take you sometime. It's great."

Cassie gave him a soft smile in return, "Can't wait."

It wasn't but a moment after she spoke that Alex began to drag Cassie out to the water, not to say that Cassie wasn't more than willing to jump feet first into the sparkling water. They were about waist deep in the ocean with Alex decided to splash Cassie. Cassie returned the gesture by sending a small wave crashing towards Alex. Alex laughed heartily as the wave collided with his body, rendering him thoroughly soaked. Cassie grinned in response, "I don't think you want to start a water fight here, Summers."

Alex shook his head, water flying off of him in beads, "Nah, you're probably right." He paused, letting his eyes and his mind wander as he took in the beauty of the ocean around them, "It's nice out today."

Cassie nodded excitedly, "It's beautiful."

They stood in the water for a while, just looking at the shells beneath their feet and the clouds that dotted the sky above. Eventually they made their way back to shore where they made themselves comfortable on the towels they had set up earlier. As they watched the waves cascade gently along the shore, neither of them said much. They said a few things off handedly, mentioning things they saw or heard, but for the most part they just sat in the comfortable silence that their situation had provided.

"Thanks for hanging out with me today, Alex."

"You're ruining the moment, Cassie."

* * *

After Cassie and Alex had managed to escape reality for a few hours at the beach, reality smacked Cassie in the face in the form of a sleepless night. Her inability to sleep the previous night had led to her being at school insanely early. It was 6:30, and her classes didn't start until 8:00. She was exhausted and her body seemed to be aching all over. She adjusted the back pack sat on her shoulders as she trudged onto the campus, eyes heaving and her head pounding. The school doors didn't open until 7:00 when most of the teachers arrived, so Cassie was stuck sitting outside the front of the building until 7:00 rolled around. She had been waiting for a mere ten minutes when a much unexpected student came into Cassie's line of sight.

John.

If Cassie had been well rested, she probably would have reacted differently than she did. She probably would have tensed up, refused to speak to him; she might have even pretended he wasn't there. However, her body was tired and her brain wasn't running on 100%, so she reacted in the following fashion.

"You are the last person I expected to see here this early." Cassie said to the red headed teenager in front of her, one eye brow raised.

John let a small smirk rise onto his lips as he responded in the same sarcastic tone, "Could say the same thing about you." He nodded his head to the spot next to her on the ground, silently asking permission to sit with her. She responded with a lift of her shoulders and John took a seat on the cement next to Cassie, "What brings you here?"

She let out a heavy breath, tilting her head back to rest against the wall of the school, "Couldn't sleep last night. Decided to get out of the house early and here I am." She looked at John from the corner of her eye and smiled slightly, "Can honestly say I did not expect to run into you this early."

John shrugged, "I always leave early. The more time I can spend away from my house, the better." He fumbled around in his pocket for a moment, retrieving a pack of cigarettes and a bright orange lighter. He flipped open the pack and slid a single cigarette out, lighting it and placing it into his mouth. Cassie watched curiously as John took a deep breath of gaseous cancer, blowing the smoke out into the open air when he was done.

The smell was revolting as it resonated in Cassie's nostrils, yet it spurred a curiosity in her that she was constantly fighting to act on. Yet again, if she were in her right state of mind she probably would have been successful; alas she was exhausted and desperate for something other than nightmares to focus on. In her desperation, she did something she never thought she would do, "Can I try one of those?"

John's response to Cassie's question was to cough loudly, the surprise of hearing those words leave Cassie's mouth shocking him greatly. Once he had gotten his coughing fit under control, he sat forward to get a better look at Cassie, "What?"

Cassie attempted to reiterate herself with confidence, her now dry mouth making it somewhat difficult to speak, "I asked if I could, um… Try one?" She met his eyes with a look of determination, sprinkled with fear, and filled to the brim with vulnerability. Without a word or a hint of humor in his eyes, he silently held out the lit cigarette for Cassie to take from his hand. He waited patiently for her shaky hand to retrieve the cigarette, and watched with a raised brow as she raised the cigarette to her lips.

Nervously she inhaled the carcinogen ridden smoke, feeling her lungs burn with pain almost immediately. Her body tensed up as every muscle in her body rejected the smoke in her lungs, causing her to cough violently.

John laughed loudly as the girl next to him convulsed in a fit of coughs, holding the cigarette responsible a full arm's length away from her. He reached out to take it, thoroughly surprised when she moved her arm to avoid his grasp. He simply reached out a little farther and plucked the cigarette from her hand, taking an easy drag from it as Cassie's breathing settled. He chuckled, shaking his head, "I don't know what you were expecting."

Cassie shot him a dirty look, trying to get her breathing under check before she spoke, "How on earth do you enjoy that? That hurt like hell."

John shrugged and spoke simply, not a tone of sarcasm in his voice, "Maybe I like pain." For a moment Cassie was taken aback by his serious demeanor, reaching her hand out and taking the lit cigarette from John's hands for a second time, much to his surprise. Slightly more confident in her inhalation this time around, Cassie held it to her lips and took a slightly longer drag. She had absolutely hated the taste and feel that inhaling the smoke brought upon her, but she felt as though she needed to prove herself for some reason. Motivated by reasons unclear to her, she couldn't allow John to think that she couldn't handle something he did so casually. So, even though her lungs felt as though they were on fire, she was determined to prove herself to the pyromaniac next to her. She moved the cigarette away from her mouth, letting out a shaky breath littered with smoke. She managed to not choke on her air this time, but she still coughed slightly towards the end of her exhale. She looked at John, taking some pleasure in his surprised expression, and smiled cockily, "Yeah?"

John's face lit up with impish glee as he smirked, "Nah, I'm just kidding." He reached out and took the cigarette from Cassie to take a smooth drag before rubbing the tip into the concrete to put it out, "In all honesty, you get used to the burn." At the word burn, there was that all too familiar spark in his eyes and it reminded Cassie, yet again, that John wasn't to be trusted. It reminded her that he almost killed her. It reminded her that of all the people she had met in Bayville, John was the absolute worst candidate for an ally.

Cassie pushed those thoughts to the side in a desperate grab for normalcy. She intentionally ignored the warnings going off in her brain in favor of a few moments of blissful regularity. In that moment she made a decision that would affect the rest of her life for the duration of her stay in Bayville.

In that moment, she chose to trust John. Even if she didn't realize it yet.

* * *

As Cassie was on her way back to the institute and across the city of Bayville, stretching into Manhattan, a boy was hiding in the top floor of an abandoned building. He was scrawny, barely more than skin and bones, and had skin so pale it seemingly glowed in the dark. He looked like death, dressed in all black and tired eyes sunken in. He stared blankly at the wall across from him as he sat silently against a wall. The room surrounding him was empty, save for a black back pack sitting next to him and a worn and old sleeping bag that lay at his feet. The amount of abandoned and/or empty buildings in New York was both constantly changing and remaining the same at the same time. Buildings didn't remain empty for long; companies were constantly buying and repurposing them. In the same theme, there are always companies going under and leaving more empty buildings for other companies to buy. The system repeats itself ad nauseam, and fortunately so for Jordan. He didn't like to remain in the same place for too long, and the constantly changing city around him allowed him to move around with relative ease. He had only been in that specific location for two days, and he would likely leave within the next few days to follow.

Jordan had been living off of dumpster scraps and hiding out in empty buildings for so long, he hardly felt human anymore. He felt as though he had more in common with the rats scurrying between the walls than he did with the people roaming the streets below.

Before he could get very deep into his thoughts, he was brought back to reality. The smallest sound broke the silence of the room, originating from one of the floors below. It was enough to get Jordan's attention, and he slid a bony hand under his sleeping bag to retrieve the weapon hidden beneath it. Silently, Jordan stood and slid the strap connected to the sheath across his shoulders. He slowly made his way to the opening that led to the stairwell. He peeked over the railing, waiting in anticipation for movement of any sort. His eyes focused on the movement of a figure on one of the lower levels, moving up the stairs slowly. Jordan's right hand settled on the handle protruding from the sheath cautiously and he observed the figure. It grew closer and closer as it made its way up the winding staircase until it was at the level directly below Jordan. The figure paused and Jordan refrained from moving, waiting patiently for the figure to make its next move. It continued its ascent up the stairs until it was mere feet away from Jordan. Jordan chose that moment to unsheathe his weapon, an old single edged sword, and use it to block the path of the unknown figure.

Jordan's steely gaze was met with the hectic eyes of a man even scrawnier than him. The man had paranoia etched into every inch of his skin and he emanated desperation. Jordan's mind relaxed slightly; the man was just a druggie. Given that Jordan frequented abandoned buildings, he had met his fair share of addicts over the last few years.

The man swallowed nervously, "Why the hell do you have a sword?"

Jordan spoke, choosing to ignore the man's question, "Whatever you need to do in this building, do it on a lower level." Jordan saw how the man's eyes darted to the edge of his blade and he added, "I won't ask again nicely."

The man nodded slowly at first and it grew rapid quickly, before returning down the stairs to find a different floor to get his fix on. Jordan sheathed his weapon and returned to his position against the wall. He sat there for the rest of the day, otherwise uninterrupted until nightfall. When the night encompassed the city, Jordan did as he had done every night for the past two and a half years.

He waited, and he watched, and, when he felt he could, he helped people. He would laugh at the irony if he were the laughing sort.

A rat saving the lives of humans.

* * *

Across the city, sitting atop the roof of a large building, sat Cassie. She had effectively managed to sneak out for the first time in a week. She watched the streets from her perch, searching for any kind of clue to the whereabouts of her missing person. She had been in this location for almost 30 minutes and was about to move on to a new area when she heard signs of a struggle coming from the alleyway to her right. She peered over the edge to peer down at the scene unfolding, expecting to see the standard mugging that was frequent in the streets of New York. She was met with the surprising image of a man being pinned to the wall with a sword held to his throat. There was a terrified woman to the left of the two men, and she quickly gathered her wits and ran far away, leaving the two men on their own. Cassie couldn't hear much of what was happening below, but, when the sword wielding man landed a blow on the other man's head and rendered him unconscious, she figured she got the gist of what had gone down.

This was the first person Cassie had seen that somewhat fit the bill of what she was on the hunt for. So, when the man scaled the stairs on the side of the building opposite her, she followed him from a slight distance. She made sure to keep a few yards in between him and her, and she thought she was doing a decent job at tailing him discretely. Then the man stopped suddenly while they were atop a building and, before Cassie could register what was happening, a brick was flying through the air towards her. She reacted quickly, ducking before the brick could collide with her face. Her eyes shot to the person she had been following, only to see him running full speed at Cassie with his sword drawn.

Cassie let out a surprised yelp before she fumbled around for the water bottle she brought with her in the fanny pack she 'found' at the mall (don't judge, fanny packs are useful). She threw the water bottle up in the air and spread her hands apart aggressively. The water within the bottle ripped through the plastic and with a wave of Cassie's hands the liquid drenched the man. Cassie snapped her fingers and flung her hand to the left, solidifying the water on his clothes and using it to push him. This caused him to falter in his course, which gave Cassie time to summon the water back to her sides on the strong chance she would need it again.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a moment, which was enough time for Cassie to realize that he wasn't a man at all. He was a boy, probably no older than 14. His steely gaze bore into Cassie's suspicious eyes. Each waited for the other to speak, both still ready for the other to attack. Eventually Cassie broke the silence, "Why did you throw a brick at me?" Her voice was accusatory, and heavily offended.

The boy's face remained stoic and his stance remained primed to deflect any attack, "Why were you following me?"

Cassie took a moment to respond, weighing her options to decide what answer would be the most efficient at getting her not stabbed by the rather large sword the boy held confidently. Finally she spoke, "Maybe I wanted to talk."

The boy didn't move a muscle, not on his body or in his face. He observed her quietly and intimidatingly, moonlight shining off of his blade menacingly, "I don't want to talk." Without any warning, the boy took off in a sprint towards Cassie with his sword at the ready. Cassie prepared herself to deflect his attack when, at the last possible moment, the boy jumped into the air and used his momentum to land onto Cassie's shoulders, launching himself behind her and into the alley below. As quickly as she could regain her balance, she spun around and looked over the edge in search of the mysterious boy. She was met with a vision filled with nothing but black shadows. Cassie let out a heavy sigh and sunk into a crouching position, resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hand, "Damnit."

* * *

While Cassie was getting her butt handed to her by an apparent 12 year old, John was in the living room of the Brotherhood House, watching a video compilation of forest fires on his phone. While he was enjoying the third fire on the list, Lance entered the room with the dignity of a village idiot and said loudly, "Blue or black?"

"I could not give less of a crap." John said definitely while keeping his eyes glued to the fiery carnage on his phone screen.

Lance scoffed with a roll of his eyes, keeping his stance in front of the television, "John—"

"Don't call me that." John interrupted quickly, eyes still on his phone screen.

"—help me pick out a shirt and stop being such a little—"

John groaned loudly, interrupting Lance for the second time, and raised his eyes up to look at the two shirts Lance had in his hands, "Black. Can you go back to leaving me alone now?"

Lance rolled his eyes and left the room, muttering something about how much better things had been before John moved in. John's attention had been drawn away from his video, and so it no longer interested him. Digging into his pocket to retrieve his lighter, his mind began to wander. While he flicked the lighter on and off absentmindedly, he was too preoccupied to notice someone take a seat next to him on the sofa. "Hey Pyro." A feminine voice spoke, jarring John from his thoughts. He looked to his right and saw Wanda sitting next to him in her usual scarlet garb.

He gave her a slight nod, "Did you need me to help you pick out an outfit too?"

Wanda chuckled with a shake of her head, inspecting her nails while she spoke, "Nah. Toad, Blob and I wanted to go hang out. Wanna come with?"

John shrugged as he stood, slipping his lighter back into his pocket, "Sure. I want out of this house."

* * *

After Cassie had returned with her tail between her legs, she had been intercepted by Kurt on her way up to her room. While Cassie had predominately hung out with Kitty and Alex since she arrived at the mansion, Kitty had often invited Cassie to hang out with some of her other friends. So Cassie had hung out with Kurt, Rogue, and a few others once or twice, but it was still surprising when Kurt sought her out specifically. Cassie stopped and smiled at him politely, "Hey Kurt. Is there something you need?"

Kurt crossed his arms and leaned against the wall with a wide grin on his face, "We were going to go see a movie, and were wondering if you wanted to come?" His voice was heavily laced with his thick German accent.

After a moment of thought, Cassie agreed. She needed to distract herself from the fact that it was only 8:30 and she already got her butt handed to her by a kid.

It was a real blow to her ego.

* * *

Cassie was regretting her choice of clothing as she was standing in line with Kurt, Jubilee, Alex, and Bobby. The jean shorts she was wearing just made her realize how cold it was outside at night, and the thin gray hoodie she wore atop her body was her only protection against the elements. While Cassie was attempting to distract herself with reading the movie posters plastered on the side of the theater, she heard Bobby mutter, "Crap" under his breath.

Cassie turned her head towards him to ask what he was talking about, but her question was answered before she asked it by Jubilee speaking, "Hey Wanda." Her tone was friendly enough, but it was clear that she was only being friendly in an attempt to placate any potential situations. Wanda responded with a nod of her head as she leaned into the side of John's arm. Cassie suddenly realized that John was there and she brightened up slightly before she felt a knot grow in her stomach. John hadn't noticed her yet, given that his attention was on the raven haired girl hanging off of his arm. Cassie's teeth began to gnaw at the inside of her cheek and she lowered her eyes to the ground. Alex glanced at her, seemingly sensing her discomfort, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Instinctively, Cassie leaned into him and gave him a tight smile as gratitude.

The Brotherhood members settled in line behind them, talking amongst themselves. Cassie was trying to ignore them, which she was managing to do decently well until a familiar smell filled her nose. Her eyes snapped over her shoulder and settled on John who had a hand cupped around a lit cigarette in his mouth. He took a drag and noticed Cassie looking at him with a look of disgust. He grinned widely as he took the cigarette in between his index and his middle finger, holding the cigarette out slightly towards Cassie, "Wanna try again sheila?"

Alex glanced down at Cassie with his brows furrowed in the center of his head, "What's he mean Cassie?"

Cassie could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks as that knot that had formed earlier grew tighter in her stomach. She pursed her lips and turned her head to face in front of her again, avoiding Alex's eyes, "Nothing. He's just being a jerk." Thankfully Kurt saved her from having to elaborate further by passing out the tickets.

As Cassie and the others entered the theater, she heard John laugh loudly behind her. The knot in her stomach tightened again.

* * *

 **I'm hoping that the rest of the chapters will be longer than previous ones, more or less to compensate for my lack of a regular uploading schedule. I encourage you to leave a comment if you have any critiques or questions or even suggestions! They help me a lot. I'm not the most seasoned writer, and one of the reasons I upload my works onto the internet is for the possibility of feedback that could help me grow. Thanks again for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **-Catmandu22**


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